


A New Perspective: The Tale of Two

by canthatewhatyoucantsee



Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, F/M, Female Frisk (Undertale), Friendship, Gen, OC's Perspective, POV First Person, Spoilers, Teenage Frisk (Undertale), Teenagers, slight-Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-03
Updated: 2021-01-11
Packaged: 2021-03-02 04:01:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 20
Words: 77,783
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23978632
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/canthatewhatyoucantsee/pseuds/canthatewhatyoucantsee
Summary: What if another human fell with Frisk? How much would this change, and how would the timeline react? Follow Jack as he journies through the Underground with Frisk by his side, meeting familiar faces and not so familiar faces along the way. Who knows, maybe he's all Frisk needs to save the few who cannot be saved.(Also Available on FFN)
Relationships: All Canon Relationships (Undertale)
Comments: 16
Kudos: 13





	1. The Fall

**Author's Note:**

> I, quite obviously, own nothing of Undertale or it's contents. The only thing I own presented in this fanfiction (and I'm not even sure I own them) is the original characters. With that being said, I hope you enjoy the read! By the way, in case you don't read tags, this is a fanfic from an OC's perspective. DO NOT read if you hate OCs.

"And you call that a good idea?" My friend asked with a mocking tone. A few hours ago, I had come up with the brilliant idea to play a prank on my teacher. Brilliant in all ways, no way for me to ever get caught... then I got suspended. Mom and Dad were not happy, to cut it short.

I shook my head a few times. "Okay, look, what do you want me to say? I didn't think I'd get caught."

She laughed. "Of course you'd get caught! Only you would ever do that, and you left a lot of evidence behind." I gave her a defeated glare, knowing she was right. I even left my bookbag at the scene of the crime. Still, I tried to hide that; if she realized that I was admitting I was wrong, I'd be mocked for days. "What's your defense?" she asked with her arms crossed, an eyebrow raised. When a few seconds went by with nothing from me, she smiled. "Ah, I see. So you agree you're a dumbass."

I pointed my finger to the sky like I had some bold evidence under my sleeve. "Well actually-" But I didn't. I just stared at her, trying desperately to come up with something. After a few moments passed and I still had my finger in the sky, I finally put it down with a sigh, slumping slightly. "Okay, fine Comet," I struggled to let out. "I'll admit it." I rolled my eyes. "You're right."

"Finally you agree." She leaned back a little. "Who'd put a tarantula in their teacher's room and expect to not get caught?" I just shrugged like I had no idea what she was talking about. She shook her head with a little giggle. "You're so dumb."

I stood up from the tree we were under. "Maybe." I smiled as I thought back to how much planning the little stunt. "But do you even know how much determination and brute force it took to do that prank?. Don't even get me started on the tarantula." I heard a chuckle come from Comet as I walked to the edge of the mountain; it was always so easy to make her laugh. If we used her as a reference, I was a damn world-class comedian. My thoughts were cut short when I noticed the mystical view that sat in front of me. The city, not quite lit up with lights yet, stood tall and proud, the sun setting just behind it. Everything had an orange glow from the sunset. I sighed, "You know, I don't get it." I looked back at her. "Why did they ever ban coming up here? The view's perfect." I looked over the edge. Even if I fell, I'd mostly just scoot down because of how little of a steep there was. "These edges are smoother than a basketball!"

I heard Comet's clothes rustle as she got up, slowly walking over to me, "I don't know," she said as she reached my side. "According to my grandma, it was still banned back when she was a kid, and you know how old she is." She looked over at me; normally, I would look back, but I was far too focused on the sunset. "Good thing we found a way up here, right Jack?"

"Yeah." That little sentence brought back some memories. It took us a long while to find a non-dangerous path up the mountain. I walked a little closer to the edge. "I wouldn't miss this-" I put my arms out like I was presented something. "-For anything!" Comet stared at me for a few moments before turning to the view as well; she seemed to get mesmerized by it the moment her eyes locked on to the city. No matter how long we stared at it, time seemed to stay still. It felt blissful, to say the least. I never wanted to leave. That all changed when I heard the crunching of leaves behind us.

I snapped around. Nothing but an overgrown pathway leading to the top. I looked over at Comet, she didn't seem to notice the sound, but I knew I had heard something. I walked over to where I heard it. Strangely, a bush sat in front of me. I swear I could hear the faintest of breathing emitting from it. My eyes locked onto it, trying to see any movement or signs of life... nothing else ever happened. Just when I was about to turn around, I heard rustling come from the bush. I locked back onto it. Any movement halted.

I started to approach it, slowly reaching my hand out. Just when I was about to touch the leaves, a teenager around my age jumped out of the bush screaming. Because of how fast it happened, I couldn't make out any features of them, but judging by the sound of their voice, they were a girl. They started bolting up the path, the only place me and Comet had never gone. I don't know why, but something pushed me to follow her. Despite my better judgment, I did. Comet tried to tell me to stop but I just ignored her. I heard her follow after me as I ran up the path.

I ran after the girl as fast as I could, trying my best to keep up with her. It didn't seem like she planned on slowing down. She ran into a cave and I quickly followed in her footsteps. Her scream echoed through the cavern as I entered. It was massive, huge stalactites hung off the roof or stuck out of the ground. A giant hole sat in the middle of it, the faint echos of the girl's voice emitted from it. I quickly rushed over to the hole and looked down it. The bottom couldn't be seen.

I heard Comet's footsteps stop at the edge of the cave. "Comet?" I looked back at her. "I think that girl fell down here."

Comet hanged on the edge of the cave wall like she was the one near the massive hole. She glanced around the cave. "Okay. Just... get away from the edge. I don't want you to fall too."

I looked back down the pit, my stomach turning as I did. "But how are we going to help her? We can't just leave her down there."

"Look, I don't know, okay? I just know that you falling down won't help anyone."

I stared down the hole for a few more moments. "Yeah, you're right."

I couldn't take a step back before I heard a chuckle come from behind me. I snapped around. Nothing was in sight besides a small hole on the floor. Comet's eyes were wide like she saw something, but I didn't realize at the time. Suddenly, I felt something sharp yank at my foot. I lost my balance and almost fell down the hole, but I was able to just barely grab onto the edge. "Jack!" Comet shouted as she rushed over to me. She crouched down. "Are you okay?"

I looked at her for a few moments before looking down towards the seemingly bottomless pit. My body was like a ragdoll, swinging over the endless nothingness. "Yeah," I said. I was in too much shock to take the situation entirely serious. I looked back up at her. "But I don't know how long that will last!" My arm felt increasingly more tired.

"Here," Comet said as she offered her hand. I tried to reach out and grab it, but my arm wouldn't go higher than my neck.

I grunted as I let my arm dangle once more. "I don't think you'll be able to help me."

"Then what the fuck am I supposed to do?" she shouted. "Just let you fall?"

Now the fear was starting to set in. "I don't know, okay?" The edge I was holding onto started to give, and I could feel it. I looked at it. "Shit."

"What?" Comet asked; I don't think she had noticed.

I returned my stare to her. "Listen Comet, I need you to run as fast as you can to help. Maybe if you're fast enough then we can-"

A huge crack suddenly appeared on the edge. Comet jolted back, but her face looked like it quickly regretted it. I looked at Comet one last time before the entire ledge came loose, just barely missing her. Before I knew it, I was falling back first into the hole. Adrenaline pumped through my veins, seemingly slowing down time. Visions flashed through my head, some of my life, others were lives I had never experienced. The most prominent one was of a great war between creatures and humans only seen in fantasy books.

There was a king resembling a goat and a normal human. One day, a few of the king's subjects decided to go rogue and attacked a handful of humans. They were quickly disposed of by the king himself and no one was killed, but the human's leader didn't seem to care. They declared war on the monsters despite their begging. After long battles and many deaths, the humans won. They gathered up the best mages and sealed the monsters underground with a long lost spell. Then the visions ended. I was still trying to make sense of it all when everything went black.

* * *

I jolted awake. It was hard to see my surroundings. A beam of light came out of a hole in the ceiling, landing straight on me. My eyes darted around; I was lying on a golden bed of flowers, the girl I had chased after laid next to me. A dimly lit pathway lead away from us. I tried to stand but felt pain jolt through my body instead; my leg felt broken, the same for my arm. After a few seconds of preparation, I used what little energy I had to push myself off the floor. Somehow, I succeeded. It didn't feel good at all though. It could've even been considered downright torture. I looked at the girl. Because she was passed out on the floor, I could get a better description of her now. She was wearing a striped blue and purple long-sleeved shirt with blue jeans. Her hair was brown and long, leading down her back even when she was face-first into the flowers, and her skin was pale, covered in cuts and bruises. Some were recent while others looked quite old.

I gently shook the girl in an attempt to wake her. She didn't react. Worried the worst had happened, I felt for a pulse; I couldn't even begin to tell you the relief I felt when her heartbeat went through my fingers. I could just barely feel it, but all that mattered was that she was still beating. I considered carrying her, but my broken leg could barely support my own weight. I looked around for another option but none greeted me. Doing the only I could to help her, I bent down and attempted to pick her up. My leg ached in nearly unbearable pain, my arm the same, but I pushed through it somehow. After a few seconds, I was shocked to find that I had successfully picked her up. I turned to the path and started hobbling down it as quickly as I could; I couldn't hold the pain off for long.

We walked through an arch and a small patch of grass greeted us, another arch was behind it. I was about to walk over the grass, not paying much mind to it, when the ground rumbled ever so slightly. Not too long after that, a golden flower with a face popped out of the ground. I couldn't believe my eyes, but the pain coursing through my veins made it so I couldn't speak. It was looking down to the ground, an almost sad expression across its face.

It sighed. "Why are you back again-" When it looked up its eyes saw mine, they went wide before a seemingly friendly smile crept up on its face. "Oh. You're not what I expected at all!" it said almost too happily. "Howdy! I'm Flowey. Flowey the flower!" It looked at the girl. I swear I saw a fire ignite in his eyes as he slowly frowned. The smile quickly came back. "What happened? Did you two fall down?" Flowey asked like he already knew the answer. I nodded. " Well, that's just a shame. You two probably won't be leaving anytime soon, so let me teach you how things work around here before you go any further." I felt something pop out of my body, leaving a cold and empty feeling. I looked down and saw two dim red orbs floating in front of me.

"See that left orb? That's your soul. The thing that makes you, well, you! Your soul follows you when in a battle. Go ahead and try walking around now!" I walked away from me and the girl's soul, them quickly following after us. Mine latched on to my chest while the girl's latched on to her arm. When I stopped walking, they floated back in front of us. "When your body takes damage, your soul gets dimmer. If you get too hurt, your soul will become so dim that it will disappear. Without a soul, you'll die."

He squinted at the two orbs, "Uh oh, looks like you two have taken a lot of damage." He gave me a mischievous smile, his eyes still bright with happiness. "Would you like me to heal you?" Seeing no other option, I nodded. Little yellow petals suddenly surrounded him, "Okay! Down here, you heal by running into these little..." He paused for a moment. "... petals. Ready?" Our souls latched on to us and the petals started to come closer. "Run into them and catch as many as you can!" I let one of the petals hit my non-broken arm. I felt the bone instantly shatter, my soul almost disappearing.

I dropped the girl and collapsed to the floor. Flowey's friendly face had turned to one that made my spine shiver. His smile showed his razor-sharp teeth and his eyes were wide and black. " **You Idiot!** " it screamed in a voice that you wouldn't expect to come out of a flower. " **In This World, It's KILL Or Be KILLED**. **How Could Anyone Pass Up An Opportunity Like This? Two Human Souls For The Taking** , **And No Resistance Too!** " A sphere of those golden petals surrounded us, " **DIE!** " he screamed before laughing demonically.

The petals approached closer and closer and closer. I tried to back up, but a wall was in my way. Just when the petals made contact, a burst of light filled the room. When it vanished, I felt like I had never broken a bone. I noticed the girl was just starting to wake up as well. Our souls were as bright as the sun. Flowey looked like he knew what was going to happen. "See you soon," he said, his eyes locked onto the girl. He gained a smug grin "Frisk."

A massive fireball suddenly flew right into him, turning him into dust. The dust seeped down the hole where he once stood. With a pop, the souls seeped back into our bodies. After brushing myself off, I went over and tried to help the girl up; she just looked at me with a gaping jaw and wide eye. While I still had my hand out, a giant goat-like creature stepped out of the other arch. It wore a purple robe with a strange symbol on it. I looked up at it with terror running through my veins; it had to be at least ten feet tall! The girl, on the other hand, strangely had a smile.

They glared at the still seeping ash. "Such a wicked creature torturing such poor innocent youth," she said. Her voice was obviously a female. It was calming and gentle, almost like a stereotypical mother. She looked at me and the girl. Concern filled her face when she saw me. "Ah, do not be afraid children, I mean no harm." She gave me a gentle smile as she showed me her empty hands. It helped to calm my nerves a little. "I'm Toriel, caretaker of the Ruins. I was passing through when I heard that wicked creatures laugh." She paused for a moment. "I rushed here as quickly as I could." She crouched down to my level, the girl joined my side. The girl's smile was almost gleaming at that point and she jumped up and down like she was a child. It was very strange, to say the least. "It has been a very long time since a human has fallen." She looked at both of us and chuckled, "And it's been even longer since two have fallen at one time." She dusted me and the girl's clothes off before standing back up. "Come, I will guide you through the catacombs." She gestured us to follow before walking through the arch.

I turned at the girl; she had seemed to forget I was there as she started to walk toward the arch. "So..." I said as I rubbed my face. _What the fuck is going on?_ I thought. "Would you care to tell me who you are and why you're smiling? I mean, she seemed nice, but we almost died to a..." My voice trailed off as I struggled to process everything. "...yellow flower."

She turned to me. That smile that she had just had was gone, replaced by the shock she had when she first saw me. "You followed me?" She paused. "...Why? How?" she asked.

"What do you mean how? It's pretty simple, I ran after you."

She held her face in her hand. "You're not supposed to be here." She paused, "This isn't possible."

I squinted at her. "I think you bumped your head harder than I did on the fall."

She took a few deep breaths and didn't say anything for a moment. "Okay, just... follow me." She gave me a death stare. "And don't say anything," She stared at me for a few seconds before turning to the arch.

I turned to her. "Could I at least get a name first?

She stopped walking. "Didn't you hear the flower?" She chuckled. "It's Frisk," she said as she disappeared behind the arch.

" _Well Frisk, my name's Jack. It's a pleasure to meet such a kind and caring person. Oh, did you say thank you for not abandoning you? Why you're welcome Frisk!_ " I mumbled, mocking her attitude. When I was left in the room with no one but myself, I decided to quickly follow after her.


	2. A Walk Through the Ruins

Going through the arch, the purple ruins of something met me. The room was vast and huge, even Toriel looked small compared to the height of the ceilings. Two stairs, old and decrepit, lead to a doorway type structure, two windows sat on either side. I could roughly see the same scenery on the other side. A big sign above the doorway simply read " **RUINS** " in bold letters. Above all this, a dome-like structure was carved into the ceiling. A small hole sat in the middle of it, what I can only assume was daylight pored through. Vines, moss, and cracks covered some of the walls, others were in pristine condition. In between the two staircases were somehow a pile of leaves, a bright, formless blob sat in the middle, similar to what my soul looked like but it wasn't red. In fact, it lacked any color. A light pathway carved into the floor led to either set of stairs. The place was surprisingly warm and had a nice pie sent to it. Overall, despite it's huge looks, the Ruins surprisingly felt homey.

"Come along children!" Toriel said just loud enough so we could hear her. She had already made it to the top of the stairs and was standing next to the doorway. Frisk, oddly giddy, ran up to the formless blob and touched it before following Toriel's command. I wanted to ask why, but remembering her death stare from earlier, I decided to keep quiet.

Following in Frisk's footsteps, I went up to the blob. I expected her to say something, but she was too busy having a conversation with Toriel to notice me. The light it emitted was on the verge of hurting your eyes, but just barely avoided it. I was scared to touch it for whatever reason. I had just seen Frisk do it a moment ago, but I felt like it would reject me if my hand went anywhere near it. Hesitantly, I reached my hand out. The blob almost jumped onto my hand, absorbing it in the process. A strange feeling I can't quite describe overcame me when I touched it. The best way I can describe it is like I had been given the motivation to continue on my journey. Also, strangely enough, I felt completely refreshed and calm for a short period. Only after slightly moving my hand away, the blob went back to how it was before I came, the calming sensation leaving, although, the "motivation" as I'll call it, stayed. I stared at the orb, mesmerized by it's bright light.

"Child!" Toriel's calming voice snapped me out of my trance. I turned my head to her, a worried expression sat over her fuzzy face. Frisk on the other hand just looked confused. "Are you coming?" the goat-like mom asked.

Hesitant at first, I spoke up, "Y-yeah. Sorry," I said, starting to walk up the stairs. Frisk gave me another death stare which I assumed meant for me not to speak again. I decided to ignore it.

"Oh, no need to apologize, my child. It must be quite traumatizing seeing monsters for the first time," she said as calming as ever. She turned to the doorway and gestured us to follow her, "Now come along. The Ruins are very big and I would hate to waste your time with chit-chat." Following her command, we both followed her.

On the other side, a doorway with the same symbol that Toriel had on her robe could be seen. Buttons and a yellow switch sat not too far from it. "Now children-" Toriel started but quickly stopped herself. "I just realized, I don't even know your names." She turned to Frisk first, "My child, would you care to tell me your name?"

A surprised look appeared on Frisk's face, but she quickly adjusted it, "F-frisk. My name is Frisk," she said. It didn't look like she planned on saying that.

Toriel turned to me, "I'm Jack," I said before she could ask.

She smiled, "Well Jack," she turned to Frisk, "Frisk," she turned to both of us, "Welcome to your new home. Before we continue, you should know that the ruins are filled with traps and puzzles, some deadly." She slightly cringed at the last part. "Most are quite easy with obvious solutions," she turned to the buttons and switch, "But ones like these are not." She walked over and stepped on four of the buttons before turning back to us, "Would one of you like to hit the switch?" Before I could say anything, Frisk had already rushed over to the switch, quickly pulling it down, the door slid open in response. At this point, I couldn't tell if Frisk was bored or excited. "Very good Frisk!" Sensing that she wanted to say more to both of us, I walked next to Frisk. She smiled pleasantly before continuing, "As you could see, without knowing prior information about this puzzle, finding the solution would be impossible. For puzzles like these, all you simply need to do is call me for help," she said. She walked over to the doorway, "Now come along, I have much more to show," she gestured us to follow before going through.

Frisk was about to follow but I stopped her by grabbing her arm, I needed to know more about her. "Let go of me!" she responded more loudly than needed.

"Why should I? I know nothing about you minus your name," I said calmly.

She thought for a second, "Okay. If you let me go, I'll answer one of your questions," she said calmer but not fully so. I quickly let go. She looked around as if to check if anyone was listening before speaking, "What do you want to know?" she said.

 _One question... Really? Could you have made this any harder?_ I thought. She seemed to be a lot more comfortable with that orb than I was, so I decided to ask about that. "What's up with that orb? The first thing you did was touch it."

She blinked twice before rubbing her eyes, "Are you real?" she suddenly asked.

I stared at her blankly before pinching myself, "You know, I'm pretty confident that I am."

That answer didn't seem to help her faster spreading disbelief that was now all over her face, "So you're actually telling me you saw the orb?"

 _What type of question is that?_ I thought. "Wasn't I supposed to be asking the questions?" I said in an attempt to add a little comedy to the situation. It didn't work. "Yes. I saw the orb. How could someone not? It's so bright."

She just stared at me. I was starting to get worried when she started rubbing her face. "What is happening?" she paused, "First, you fall with me and next, you can see the orb. Have I been put into a different world or something?" Although she said it out loud, I feel that was directed more to herself than me.

I sighed, "Look, Frisk, I have no idea what you're talking about. What I do know is that Toriel is waiting on the other side of that door, so between you and me, I'm gonna go over there," I started walking towards the door, "You're welcome to join me."

She sat still for a few more minutes while I waited in front of the door, "Fine," she finally said. "No point in giving up at the start."

She walked through the door, "Now that's the spirit!" I said, quickly following her.

* * *

**Quick A/N: Don't worry, this isn't the end. I just wanted to say that we are going to skip to after Toriel leaves them because everything is the same up until then.**

"Are you sure? Toriel told us to wait," I said. I couldn't believe Frisk wanted to leave, she seemed content following Toriel's instructions just a moment ago.

"Believe me when I say that nothings going to happen. We got to explore by ourselves," she said, leaving the room.

Still being scared, I followed her. Once outside of the room, the same purple area greeted us. The only difference is that the blob was back and one of those frog things was sitting down. "Do you even know where we're going?" I asked.

She pet the frog thing before walking into another room and coming back with a handful of candy, "Yeah. I saw a map on one of the walls." She threw two of the candies at me, "Here, I think they're magic."

 _A map? I would have seen a map._ I thought. I looked at the candy, it ever so slightly glowed. "There definitely magic," I said. I looked at the frog thing, "Hey little dude! Are you that thing that Toriel scared off?" I asked. It croaked at me before nodding.

Frisk ran over to the blob, "Here! Come touch it!" she said in a strangely happy voice. I don't know what caused the sudden change in mood, but it was welcomed.

I walked over to it, "What got you in such a good mood?" I asked.

She smiled, "I don't know!"

"Well that's helpful," I said. I reached out and touched it, that feeling washed over me again before I took my hand away, "What even is this anyway?" I asked.

Frisk touched it next, "You'll see," she said, leaving me with more questions. She started to run down the path, "Come on! We got a long way to go!"

I ran after her, I had no idea where she was going but I had no choice but to follow her. We ran into a trap, but it was easy to get around. All we had to do was crawl through a hole. We ran into a few monsters, but they didn't cause any harm. In fact, we played with a few of them. I was enjoying myself when the phone Toriel gave me started to ring, I forgot I had it. I pulled it out, flipped it open, and put it on speaker, "Hello?" I said, causing Frisk to stop on her tracks.

"Hello?" Toriel's voice echoed from the speaker, "Is this Jack?"

Frisk ran next to me, "Yep! And Frisk too," she said.

I heard Toriel chuckle, "Good, I was just calling to check-in. You guys are still at the place I left you, right?" she asked causing me to cringe.

"Yep! We're just sitting here waiting for you," she lied for both of us.

"Good, good," she said, I could feel her smile even though she was nowhere near us. "Well, I've got to go. See you two soon!"

"Bye," I said before I heard Toriel hang up. I flipped the phone closed and put it in my pocket, "I like her," I said with a smile, turning to Frisk. I was surprised to see a frown firmly planted on her face. "Something wrong?" I asked her.

She stared off in the distance, "She didn't ask about the flavor..." she mumbled to herself. I don't even think she knew I was there.

"Frisk?" I waved my hand in front of her face, she didn't react. I shook her shoulder, "Frisk?" I said louder than before, still no reaction. Seeing no other choice, I got close to her ear, "Frisk!" I screamed, that seemed to get her attention.

She jolted out of her trance, "Huh?" she said, glancing around the room. Her eyes landed on me, I still hadn't moved back, "Why are you so close to me?"

"Oh!" I took a few steps back, feeling the heat rise to my cheeks as I did, "Sorry..." she stared at me blankly, her cheeks getting slightly red as well. I knew I had to give her a good reason, "I had to scream into your ear to get your attention, you weren't responding to anything I said."

"It's fine." She took a few steps back, "Just..." she started to walk down the path, "Let's keep going."

Not knowing what to say, I followed her. Things were silent for a few minutes, only the sound of passing monsters filled my ears. Thankfully though, Frisk started to talk again. The conversations were slow at first, but they quickly went back to how they were before. We ran into another puzzle, but it was easy to solve. All we had to do was push a few rocks, or at least that's what we thought. Our assumption was right, when we pushed the last rock in place, the spikes blocking our way sunk into the ground. I started to walk into the next room when I noticed Frisk wasn't next to me. I turned around, her eyes were firmly planted on the last rock. "Frisk?" I asked, she thankfully looked up at me this time. "You coming?"

She took a second to respond, "Yeah... yeah," she glanced back down at the rock before coming over to me, "I was just thinking." I shrugged before walking down the path. Frisk quickly took the lead from me but I didn't really mind. All was good when one of those frog things stumbled in our way. It looked at us with a confused stare before our souls popped out, they were thankfully bright, "Here we go again..." I heard Frisk say.

It opened it's mouth and a few dozen giant flies came out, they charged us with great speed. Our souls latched on as we moved away from each other I was trying my best to dodge them but a few hit me. They didn't hurt that bad, it felt like a pinch, but it was still surprising. Sweat was rolling down my head when I looked over at Frisk, she was dancing around the flies with ease, it's like she knew where they were going to go. The frog was looking at us with sad eyes, it seemed he didn't mean to do that. After a few more seconds of dodging, the flies vanished. I looked up at the ceiling and took deep breaths, "Thank god..." I was barely able to say.

Frisk walked up to the frog, "I got the last Froggit, you can get this one," she said.

I sighed, still breathing heavily, "Really? I don't even know what to say to these things."

"Just say something with a nice expression, they can't understand what you say anyways."

I took my last gasp of air, "Fine." I walked up to the Froggit, it looked at me with intrigued eyes. "Umm... hey little..." I examined it's body "...guy maybe?" I tried my best to smile. It croaked at me, "You look very... froggy today..." I said, it seemed to smile back.

I looked back at Frisk, "Try petting it!" she whisper-yelled at me.

I turned back to the Froggit, "Okay little guy, stay still," I crouched down to it''s height, "I'm gonna pet you now..." I reached my hand out, it flinched back in response. "Oh... it's okay," I tried my best to give it a gentle smile, "I won't hurt you." It still didn't seem to trust me, but it allowed my hand to make contact with it's head. It's skin was hard, scaley, and cold to the touch. I started rubbing it's head, "See? I'm okay," I said to it. I looked back at Frisk, she gave me a thumbs up. The frog gave me a happy croak before it spat out a golden coin from it's mouth. Then, it hopped away.

I picked up the coin, it was covered in the frog's saliva. Frisk walked next to me, "See? That wasn't so hard now, was it?"

I examined the coin, it had nod definable features, "Huh... I guess not." I said with a smile. I stood up and put the coin in my pocket, "Well..." I looked over at Frisk, "Let's go." She smiled at me before walking down the path.

* * *

After a few puzzles and a few encounters, we made it to the end of the path. A tree sat in front of us, it's leaves were bright and colorful and a patch of grass sat below it. Behind it was a house-like building. A sign sat above the doorway into the house, it read, " **HOME** " in big, bold letters. Frisk stared at the tree with amazement gleaming in her eyes, she was examining every part of it. I was looking dully at the surroundings, everything in the Ruins seemed to blend together, the tree was the most interesting part about the entire place. Nothing was really happening when I heard a pair of footsteps echo from behind the tree.

"I should probably go get the children... they must be worried sick," I heard Toriel mumble to herself. She stepped around the tree, her eyes landing on me. "Jack!?" she said, I slowly waved at her with a cringe. She rushed over to me, 'Where's Frisk?" she asked me. I pointed at Frisk who was starting to walk over to me. "How did you two wander over here?" she asked.

"You were taking so long that we decided to just explore," I said, trying my best not to panic.

Frisk now stood next to me, "Yeah... we were really bored," she added.

Toriel frowned, "Oh... forgive me, my children, for taking so long. I was trying to get everything ready and-"

"What were you getting ready?" Frisk interrupted.

Toriel blinked a few times, "Curse me and my mouth," she eventually mumbled to herself. She looked at both of us, "Well, I suppose there is no point in hiding it now," she turned to the house, "Come, my children. I have something to show you," she said before walking into the house.

Me and Frisk followed after her. The formless blob sat just outside of the house, so we both touched it. Frisk went into the house but I decided to stay outside for just a little longer. I looked over the outside of the house and sighed, _Welcome to my new life_ , I thought to myself before finally walking into the house.


	3. Home

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ignore the notes below, they will not go away.

I closed the door behind me, a color other than purple finally flooded my eyes. The walls of the house were a comforting white and the floors were a wooden brown. It was warm compared to the Ruins and a staircase descended further into the house. A mirror sat above the staircase reflecting my blue eyes back at me, and an empty picture frame sat not too far from the right of it. The pie smell the Ruins emitted was stronger than ever, it smelt like a mixture of butterscotch and cinnamon. The roof was just a bit taller than Toriel giving me and Frisk plenty of headroom. Toriel began to walk down a hallway to the right, "Come, children!" her voice echoed from down the hall. Me and Frisk looked at each other before joining her.

The hallway was similar to the room we just left, the only difference was the potted plants and doors that sat scattered around the place. Toriel stopped at one of the doors, she smiled at us as we walked next to her. "You two ready?" she asked, we nodded, "Good. It took a lot of time to set up, so I hope you like it." She gently opened the door and let us walk in before coming in behind us. The lights were off, so I couldn't make out anything. Toriel gasped, "Oh, silly me. I forgot to turn the lights on." Toriel walked into the darkness. I heard her fumble with something before she said, "Ah, there we go!" as the lights flickered on.

All the light came from a single lamp, it emitted a faint but comforting orange glow. The room looked like it was meant for children much younger than me or Frisk which could be seen by the size of the single bed. A poorly drawn picture of a flower sat taped on the wall, it was right next to the lamp. Stuffed animals looked at me from behind the bed, they were cute. A toybox sat at the end of the bed, it was filled with a variety of toys for all ages and genders. A shelf full of shoes and a dresser were the only noticeable things left. "So," Toriel said as she walked to the middle of the room. She clasped her hands, "What do you two think? I know it's meant for younger children, and there's only one bed-"

"It's fine Toriel," I interrupted her, "Really, it is. It's all I could have asked for after falling into this place," I looked over at Frisk, "And I'm sure she feels the same way too." Frisk slowly nodded as I finished my sentence.

Toriel smiled the most genuine smile I had ever seen, I didn't realize how happy that would have made her, but I couldn't help but smile back. Before she could say anything, her eyes suddenly became wide, her smile slowly fading as well. She sniffed at the air, "Do you... smell something burning?"

I took a big whiff of air, it smelt like burnt bread. Frisk seemed to notice it too since she was sniffing at the air, "Yeah... smells like burnt toast," Frisk said.

Toriel forced a smile as she rushed to the door, "Enjoy your stay!" she said before running out of the room, shutting the door behind her.

I was going to ask Frisk what she thought about that but when I looked at her, she was already sinking into the bed. "Welp..." she kicked off her shoes and got under the covers, "I'm pooped."

I walked up next to her, "Where am I going to sleep?" I asked.

Frisk turned away from me, "On the floor, obviously."

"Really?" Frisk's lack of response gave me all I needed. I sighed, "Fine."

I searched through the dresser for a blanket or pillow, I thankfully found both, and there were blankets to spare. After choosing my pillow and blanket of choice, I made a makeshift mattress out of what was left. When all was said and done, I made a comfortable looking bed, and that was all I could have asked for. I kicked off my shoes and pulled the covers over me, but before I could drift off into sleep, Frisk's voice filled my ears, "Could you turn the lights off?" she asked from her throne. I decided protesting against the queen wasn't the best idea and got up. I was actually about to shut the lights off anyway, so I didn't mind. I turned the lamp off, it was just as dark as before. I heard Frisk mumble, "Thank you," before light snoring came from her direction.

I was amazed at how fast she had fallen asleep but I pushed that thought away. Right now, my one goal was not to wake her. I navigated around the dark by touching everything in my reach. My method had seemed to work as I used my rough memory of the room as a map. I felt like I had made some distance when I got a handful of something squishy, it was in the shape of a sphere. I squeezed it a few times thinking it was a potted plant, it felt like no plant I had felt before. That's when it hit me, there were no potted plants in the room. I felt it some more in an attempt to decipher what it was, it had a soft texture, almost like a fabric, the squishy thing was underneath it. It was warm. Curiosity got the better of me and I felt around it to give me some clues, another one sat just next to the one I was feeling. Every few seconds they would rise up, then sink back down after another few seconds. Realization hit me like a truck, I nearly collapsed when I realized what it was I was holding.

That entire time, I had been groping a sleeping Frisk's breasts. I wanted to scream so badly, but somehow resisted the urge. I pulled my hand away without trying to wake her and slowly backed away, I wanted to die right there and then. While I couldn't see it, my face was probably as red as a tomato. I wanted to beat myself into a bloody pulp, how could I have been so stupid? I did end up slapping myself a few times, but after hearing how loud of a noise it made, I stopped myself. I rubbed my face, I could feel how much I was sweating. I listened closely to her breathing, praying to any god that I hadn't woke her. Thankfully, her breathing was still slow. I slowly crawled into my makeshift bed, I was far too hot now to use the blanket, so I kicked it off. I tried desperately to think of something else, but it didn't work. How much of a dumbass do you have to be to grope someone? Finally, after what felt like hours of beating myself up, I passed out.

* * *

"Jack?" someone said my name. I shot up, I was still in the same room. I couldn't put my finger on it, but something looked... off. "Jack?" the voice asked again, it was female and came from behind the door. I looked up at where Frisk was, she was gone. The bed was made as if she had never been there. "Are you there, Jack?" whoever was behind the voice really wanted to see me.

I walked up and opened the door, no one was in sight. The house was the same, but all the lights were off. The house had a heavy layer of dust that was lacking before, it filled my lungs. "Was that you, Jack?" I recognized the voice this time, it was Frisk. Her voice came from the end of the hallway. Being confused as to what was happening, I followed her voice. The dust only got thicker the further I walked.

It was a lot darker at the end of the hall than at the start. Dust covered the ground and the door leading to the ruins was missing. The pie smell was replaced by a putrid smell I couldn't quite describe. I could hear someone humming a tune, it was coming from the bottom of the staircase. It sounded like it was meant to be a lullaby, something to soothe children, but the way the person was humming it... I don't know why, but it filled me with fear. It was obviously coming from a female. A pair of footsteps started to ascend the staircase, the humming getting closer with each step. I took a step back, the floor creaked under my weight.

The humming halted. "Is that you, Jack?" Frisk's voice echoed from the staircase. I took another step back, it was followed by another creak, "Don't be scared, Jack. It's me, your best friend..." I didn't need to see them to know that wasn't Frisk, their voice would flicker from Frisk's to their own with every word they spoke.

The thing borrowing her voice walked up the stairs, I got a glimpse of their head first. They had chocolate hair and a head shape roughly similar to Frisk. They had rosy red cheeks and a wide smile planted on their face. Their eyes were firmly planted shut. They continued to walk up, they wore a green and yellow striped sweater and brown shorts. A sharp knife sat in one of their hands, a thick layer of dust was on it. They reached the top and turned to me. Their body flickered in and out of existence, being replaced by Frisk's every time. Their eyes shot open, while everything else of their body flickered to Frisk, their eyes remained the same solid color, a blood red. "Frisk," they finished their sentence.

Their smile became wider as they charged me. I closed my eyes and braced for impact when...

* * *

My eyes shot open. Cold sweat covered my body as my eyes dashed around the room. My eyes had adjusted to the dark, so I could actually see. Frisk had rolled onto her chest, one of her arms was hanging off the bed. She was snoring loudly and drool leaked from her mouth. _At least I won't accidentally grope her now_ , I thought, causing me to cringe. The strong scent of cinnamon and butterscotch mixed together flooded my nose and I quickly found out why. A slice of pie sat on a plate next to my makeshift mattress, the same applied to Frisk. I noticed that I was neatly tucked in, I know I didn't do that. My nerves were still fired up, so even the slightest noise caused me to panic. In an attempt to calm down, I looked at Frisk.

I smiled, seeing her like that was funny. She acted so tough and like she knew everything when she was awake, but when it came down to it, she slept like every other person. I stood up and checked my flip phone, according to the time it read, we had been napping for nearly four hours. I decided that Frisk had slept for long enough. I walked over and began to shake her, "Frisk!" I said loudly.

Frisk twitched a bit before jolting up, "I'm awake!" She nearly yelled at the wall. Her eyes scanned the room, she released the air trapped in her lungs when her eyes landed on me. "Oh... it's just you," she stretched her arms out, "How long was _I_ out?"

" **We** were out for about four hours."

Frisk's eyes widened a bit, "Damn... that long?" I nodded, "That's longer than normal," I was going to ask what meant, but she stood up before I could. She looked down at her slice of pie, "Oh, she still made pie."

I had to ask her this time, "What do you mean by 'still'?"

She looked up and blinked at me a few times, "I almost forgot you were here." She walked to the dresser and started to search through it, "You'll see soon enough," she pulled out a blue and purple jacket, gloves, black pants, and female underwear, "Now could you screw off for a bit? I gotta change." I wanted to ask her how she knew that was there, but I decided not to since she was probably going to give me a cryptic answer like she had before.

I grabbed my slice of pie and walked out of the room, shutting the door behind me. Thankfully, there was no dust in the air. I walked down the hallway, I heard the humming from my nightmare. This time though, it soothed me. The person who was humming it made it sound as gentle as a lullaby, if not gentler. It was emitting from the hallway I had not been down. Remembering how long Comet would take when we had sleepovers to change, I decided to follow it.

I walked down the hall, a living room of sorts greeted me. Toriel sat in a comfy-looking armchair, she was the source of the humming. She had reading glasses on and was immersed in a book, I couldn't make out the title. A fireplace and a bookshelf sat not too far away from her, the fire in the fireplace looked pleasant, I could feel it's warmth from where I was standing. A dining room sat not too far away from the living room, two chairs sat at either side of the table and one big chair sat in the middle. A cute little pot of flowers sat in the middle of the table. Judging by how she was still reading, Toriel hadn't seemed to notice me.

I took a step forward and the floor creaked, I guess my nightmare got that right about this place. Toriel looked up from her book, "Oh! Jack!" She looked at what I was holding and smiled, "I see you found your slice of pie. I didn't know if you liked cinnamon or butterscotch, so I put them both together."

I looked down at the slice, it was still warm, "I luckily like both," I looked back at her, "Thank you."

Her smile became wider, "You're welcome." She took off her glasses and set down her book, "Has Frisk woken up yet?" she asked as she stood up.

"Yeah, I actually woke her up," I looked behind hoping to see Frisk, she wasn't in sight, "She's changing right now, so I wouldn't go in there."

"Oh dear, I hope those clothes fit her," she said. I had a feeling they would. She took the pie from my hands, "Let me put this on the table for you." She put the pie in front of one of the chairs facing each other.

I walked over and took a seat, "Thank you Toriel, for everything." I wish I could have repaid her somehow for all the things she had done for me and Frisk. She smiled at me before walking into the kitchen, humming that same tune that used to scare me.

I picked up the fork that was thankfully on the table and started to chow down. The pie was more than delicious, it was perfect. The way that the butterscotch and cinnamon mixed together to make the perfect flavor was just perfect, and the bread was cooked to perfection as well. When I had finally finished the pie, Frisk had walked in. I was right, everything fit her. The jacket was unzipped and her gloves were most likely in her pocket. She had tied her hair back into a ponytail. I would never say this to her face, but if I wasn't lying to myself then I thought the jacket and pants looked cute on her. Same for the hair.

It took me a while to realize that I was staring at her... hard. She seemed to notice this, "Did you not think I had any hair ties or something?" she asked.

I tried my best to hide my embarrassment as I looked away, "No, I just..." my voice trailed off as I thought of something to say. I finally came up with something, "I just thought the jacket looked good on you, is all." I said as I buried my face into my hands, I was smart enough to realize calling her cute would end terribly.

Her eyes widened a bit as her cheeks became red, she clearly wasn't expecting that. "Oh..." she had the same face I had when I was thinking of something to say, "Thank you," she eventually settled on without looking at me.

Toriel was my night in shining armor as she came out of the kitchen, not even aware of the awkwardness in the room. She smiled once she saw Frisk, "It's good to see you awake, Frisk." Frisk slowly looked away from me, she smiled when Toriel was in her field of view. She examined her new appearance, "I'm glad to see those clothes fit you. They look nice on you." Frisk's cheeks seemed to become less red now that she knew more people than just me thought that. "Did you get your pie?" Toriel asked.

"Yeah," she responded, "I ate it in the room." She walked over and took a seat in the chair in front of me.

I looked over at her, "Without a fork?" She nodded.

I was about to ask how when Toriel spoke up, "Would you like another slice?" she asked both of us.

"Yes!" we both said at the same time, it seemed Frisk liked the pie as much as I did.

She smiled, "Okay then," she turned around and walked into the kitchen, "I'll get you two another slice."

Once Toriel disappeared into the kitchen, silence crept its way into the room. It wasn't an awkward silence, but it definitely wasn't a comfortable one either. I wish Frisk sat next to me now cause we just staring at each other. It was the type of stare that said, "I barely know anything about you and don't know what to say." I hated that type of stare. I searched my mind for something to say, thankfully, my mind delivered with a joke Comet told me. "So... I was thinking..." I picked up my fork and began to fidget with it, "If you get knocked over the head with a coffee cup... have you been mugged?" I said, praying to God that she had a sense of humor.

She tilted her head to the side and looked at me with a black expression. A few seconds passed and a smile finally crept up on her face, "That was a good one. Took me a second, but I get it."

I thanked Comet for her terrible puns before continuing our conversation, "Yeah, my friend on the surface would tell me that one whenever things got quiet between us. We would always start talking after it was told."

"Is that friend the girl you were talking to on the mountain?" I nodded, "Well, tell her she has a good sense of humor," she said with a smile.

I smiled back. Toriel came out with the pies shortly after, "Here you two are," she said, putting the pies in front of us. We both said thank you before we began to eat. Toriel smiled and took a seat in her rocking chair. I thought I was eating the pie fast but when I looked up at Frisk, she was already done and I still had half a pie left. Now that Frisk had brought up the mountain, I thought I'd ask her why she was up there, "Hey, Frisk?" I said, putting my fork down. She looked up at me, "You don't have to answer this if you don't want to but I gotta ask," I looked her in the eyes, "Why were you on the mountain?"

She looked down and frowned, something I wasn't expecting. A few seconds pass and she still hadn't answered. Finally, I heard her voice, "You said I don't have to answer, right?" she said without looking at me. I nodded, "Then I'll keep that to myself for now."

While that wasn't the answer I wanted, I accepted it. I didn't want to push her further than I already had, and from the looks of it, that one question had nearly pushed her over the edge. Judging by the way she was staring at Frisk, Toriel realized that as well. Toriel got up and put her hand on Frisk's shoulder, "Frisk, honey?" she looked up at her, "Would you like to help me with the dishes?" Frisk glanced at me before looking back at Toriel and nodding. I wanted to tell Toriel that I didn't mean to hurt her feelings, and I was about to, but before any words came out of my mouth, Toriel put her finger up and gave me an understanding look. She let Frisk stand up, then she guided her into the kitchen.

I was left, alone, in the dining room. Only the sound of the fire crackling could be heard. I felt terrible, I had done two bad things to Frisk in one day, and I would never let that down. Feeling like I had nowhere else to run, I got up and walked back into the ruins. The tree had lost a few of its leaves, but everything was the same otherwise. I walked out of Toriel's front lawn and onto the path. It split into three sections. One was the way I just came from, another was where me and Frisk had come from, and the last one was somewhere Frisk had refused to go. I knew she didn't want to go there for a good reason, but I let curiosity get the better of me and followed the forbidden path.

* * *

I couldn't understand why Frisk didn't want to come over here, the view was priceless. A city, or the ruins of one, sat in front of me. Much like the Ruins, it was purple and seemed to go on forever. I couldn't make out any lights or people, so I assumed it was abandoned. I was on a balcony of sorts, a toy knife sat not too far away from me. For a second, I felt like I was back on the surface, looking over the city with Comet. If only that feeling lasted longer.

"Jack?" Frisk's voice echoed from behind me. "What are you doing here?"

I wondered how she found me, but decided I wouldn't ask. "Just thinking of all my mistakes," I said back to her.

"Are you really beating yourself up over that?" she said. I didn't say anything back. "You shouldn't be. I mean, after all," she took a step forward, "We both know you've done way worse things."

"Huh?" I wasn't expecting her to say that. I turned around to face her, "What do you-" I froze. The thing from my nightmare greeted me.

They took a step forward, "You've taken away countless of innocent lives and ruined countless families. Why would ruining one person's day affect you?"

I tried to back up but the railing of the balcony prevented me, "I-I don't know w-what you're talking about." I was shaking.

They stopped approaching me, "Oh... that hasn't happened yet?" They paused before taking a step forward, they giggled, "Then it will soon enough."

I ran over and picked up the toy knife, it was surprisingly sharp. I pointed the knife at them, "Stay Back!" I shouted. My reflection on the knife had the same colored eyes as the thing in front of me, blood red.

"And it all starts with this..." their voice trailed off as they started to run towards me. When they got close enough, I slashed at their neck. They halted and stared at me with a smile as blood leaked from their neck. Their body began to disappear, "See you soon, partner," They said with a giggle as the last of them vanished into the air.

I blinked a few times, nothing was in front of me. I checked the knife, no blood was on it and my reflection had turned back to normal. I gripped it tightly, turned to the abandoned city, and chucked it as far as I could. I heard it clatter as it hit the floor far below me. "Never again," I mumbled under my breath. I took in the view one last time before turning around and walking down the path, "Never again."


	4. Making Amends

I was on edge the entire walk back to Toriel's home, checking my surroundings at the slightest noise. Thankfully though, I felt at ease the moment I stepped into the house. A conversation between Frisk and Toriel echoed from the living room, they had not seemed to notice I had entered. Not wanting to ruin yet another conversation, I headed to our room.

The lights were on and Frisk's clothes laid about the floor. I took a seat next to Frisk's bed, leaning against it. I was given flashbacks to me groping Frisk, even though she had no idea that I did that, I still felt terrible for it. Then images of me giving Frisk a compliment flooded my mind, that must have made her feel so awkward. Finally, I remembered how I asked Frisk about the surface, I knew she wasn't on the mountain for a good reason, so why did I bother to ask? I was so caught up in my head that if you looked at me in that moment, you would probably think I was some philosopher coming up with the meaning of life. But I wasn't any philosopher, I was just a stupid teen looking back on his stupid decisions, wallowing in self-pity. And that's what I would always be.

I was in so much self-pity that I didn't even realize the room had become green. I stood up and looked at my surroundings, all of the green in the room was coming from one source... the toybox, it was closed. I bent down and opened it, a bright, glowing, green frying pan took my attention immediately. I picked it up, stood up, and examined it, it was just an average frying pan. Suddenly, it became hot to the touch, nearly burning my hand. I dropped it as fast as I could, the green light started to seep out of the frying pan. Once the frying pan had lost all of it's light, the light floated in front of me to form a green formless blob. A fully transparent body formed around the blob, it sat in the middle of the body's chest.

The body in front of me was a girl, she was much shorter than me and looked about twelve. The color of her hair was impossible to make out since she was entirely green, but one thing was for sure... it was long. She wore an apron with a big heart on it, it looked stained in some places. Underneath it was your typical clothing. Her eyes sat firmly shut.

I looked at her and pinched myself. Once I realized I wasn't dreaming, I walked up to her and examined them "What are you?" I asked.

Her eyes gently opened, if we're not counting the formless blob in her chest, they glowed the brightest, "What do you mean?" she asked. Her voice was similar to Toriel's, gentle and kind, but it sounded much younger.

"Well..." I pointed at the frying pan, "You came out of a frying pan and look like nothing I've seen before."

She giggled, "Oh, I get what you're saying. I'm a human," she pointed at my chest, I felt something in me tug to her, bringing me just a little closer to her, "Just like you."

"I don't know about that..." I put my hand through her, she giggled in response, "You're like Napstablook."

Her eyes lit up, "You mean the ghost in the ruins?" she asked. I nodded, she smiled and started jumping up and down, "Me and him made eggs and toast together!" It looked like she realized something and stopped jumping, "But..." she looked at the floor and somehow picked up the frying pan. She pointed at a certain part, there was a date for when it was created. If I read it correctly, it said "1890." The girl sighed, "That was a long time ago."

I think I realized what she was getting at, "Were you born in 1890?"

She shook her head, "No, but you were close." She took a deep breath, "I was born in 1878. I fell into the underground in 1890..." her voice trailed off, but it eventually came back, "And I died a few months later."

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I was talking to a 110-year-old ghost. I blinked a few times, "W-what killed you, if you don't mind me asking."

She stayed silent for a few seconds, "It was an accident. A nice fish lady was guiding me through someplace when a monster tried to attack me. The fish lady protected me, but she was about to kill it. I jumped in the way on her final strike and she hit me instead." She paused, "The fish lady held me in her arms as I died."

I wiped a tear from my eye, she died the way everyone wants to, a hero. It wasn't fair that she died so young, "Wow... I'm sorry."

Her smile returned, "It's fine. Being dead for as long as I have has taught me to cope with my death."

"Then why did you wake up?"

"Oh, that's simple. Someone really sad walked into the room," she stretched her arms out, "And I wanted to give them a hug to help them cheer up," she said as she wrapped her arms around me.

Even though I couldn't actually feel her, it felt nice to be hugged. I returned the hug to the best of my abilities, "Thank you," was all I could think of saying back. Even after death, she was just as nice as before. She eventually let go, as did I. I crouched down to her height, "What's your name?" I asked her.

"Grace!" she said back with a happy smile.

I smiled, "Well Grace, I'm Jack. It was a pleasure to meet you."

"I'm glad I could help you smile." She handed me the frying pan, "Here, you can use it as a shield to deflect attacks."

I took it from her, "Is the metal really that strong?"

"Mm-hmm, it was made by the best blacksmith in the valley."

I smiled at her, "Once again, thank you."

She looked around like she heard something, "Well, I got to go," her body started to collapse but she kept her smile, "I hope to see you again soon, Jack!" she said as what was left of her body collapsed, leaving only the formless blob. The formless blob floated over to my hand and seeped back into the frying pan. This time, it didn't glow.

I examined it, "Me too," I said to the piece of metal. I looked at it for a bit longer before walking over and placing it on the bed.

I reclaimed my seat next to the bed, Grace had accomplished her mission, I was much happier than before. I thought back to the groping, _I_ _t was an accident... I should stop beating myself up about_ _it_ , I thought. Then me giving Frisk a compliment reflooded my mind, _She blushed, so she obviously appreciated it. And besides, things are always a little awkward after getting a compliment, even if you appreciated it._ If only Grace knew just how much that hug would change my perspective on things. Finally, I once again thought about me asking Frisk about the surface, _I... don't have a reason to justify this_ , I stood up, _I should probably apologize, it wasn't any of my business_.

Just when I was about to walk to the door, I heard a light knock come from it. I went over and opened it, expecting to see Toriel. Much to my surprise, Frisk greeted me. She was looking down at her hands and fidgeting with them. She looked like she had no intention to speak. Not wanting to stand in silence, I decided to speak, "Hey," I simply said.

She looked up at me, "Hey."

I took a deep breath of air, now was the time to apologize. "I just wanted to say..."

"I just came to say..." Frisk said at nearly the same time as me. We both blinked a few times, "You first," Frisk said.

"No, I insist, you go first," I said back.

We both took deep breaths as silence filled the air. A few seconds passed with nothing being said, I felt that now was the right time. "I'm sorry," me and Frisk unexpectedly said at the same time. Why was Frisk apologizing?

She stopped fidgeting with her hands and looked at me with a tilted head, "Why are you apologizing? I'm the one who was rude."

I shook my head, "No, the way you acted was perfectly reasonable. It wasn't my business to begin with."

She straightened her head, "I'm not just apologizing for that. I'm apologizing for the way I've treated you the entire time I've known you." She put her head down, "You've been so nice and kind to me. You carried me after we fell," _She knew about that?_ I thought. "You've done everything I've told you to do, complimented me when I thought I looked like shit, and treated me with nothing but kindness and respect. All I've done is boss you around and leave you in the dark." She pointed at my makeshift mattress, "I even made you sleep on a pile of blankets." She sunk her head even further down, "I've been a terrible person... and an even worse friend."

I was happy she considered me a friend, but that wasn't my primary focus right now. I felt like I was looking at myself from just a few moments ago. She was overthinking things, just like I had. Remembering what Grace did for me, I knew what I had to do, but it was a risky maneuver to perform. I decided I'd take the risk. I wrapped my arms around her and lightly squeezed. I thought about something to say, but nothing came to mind, so I just sat there with my arms wrapped around her. It took a while, but I felt Frisk's arms wrap around me.

We sat there for a bit, just hugging. It reminded me of all the times I had hugged Comet to cheer her up, we would just sit there and not say a word to each other. It was weird seeing Frisk like this, the shell she had put on made her seem like she knew everything, but after what she had shown me just now, I knew that clearly wasn't the case. She was just like every other person. Feeling like enough time had passed, I started to let go. Frisk began to do the same. Once our eyes met again, I could see that made her feel better. "Let's both agree that we're all assholes," I said with a smile

She nodded her head slightly, "I can accept that." She stuck her hand out, I assumed to offer a handshake, "Friends?" she asked.

I shook her hand, "Friends." Eventually, the handshake ended and I took my hand back. "I think we should try to continue through the underground," I said.

"You mean leave the Ruins?" Frisk asked.

I sighed, "If that's what's next, then yes."

"If we're going to do that, I'd recommend getting a jacket," she pointed at the dresser behind me, "There's a gray one in there that I thought might fit you." I walked over to the dresser and searched through the mountains of clothing. I found the jacket and put it on, it was a little tight, but it fit. Frisk examined me from a distance, "Looks good on you."

That compliment was eerily similar to mine, "Trying to repay the compliment I gave you?"

She raised her hands up like I was aiming a gun at her and smiled, "You caught me." She put her hands down and started to walk down the hall, "Now come on, I gotta ask Toriel something."

I followed after Frisk. She lead us into the living room, Toriel was sitting in the rocking chair almost like she was waiting for us. She smiled when she saw me enter behind Frisk, "Good to see you two made up," she said. She stood up, "Now, if I heard you correctly Frisk, you have something to ask me?"

"Yeah... I do..." her voice trailed off. She started to cringe as she said her next sentence, "We want to leave the Ruins."

Toriel's eyes became wider, "You want to leave? But why?" I guess she hadn't prepared for us asking this question.

I decided to let Frisk take the lead, "I don't know about Jack, but I want to see the sun again. Besides, we can't stay cramped up here forever, that's no way to live."

Toriel stayed silent at first, but then her eyes returned to normal and she frowned, "You're right. I would hate to stay in here for the rest of my life." Toriel took a deep breath, "I will let you leave the Ruins, but only under one condition..."

Frisk stayed silent so I decided to speak up, "What is it?" I asked.

She smiled, "You let me come with you."

That was the best thing I could have asked for. Judging by Frisk's face, she thought the same, "Yes! Of course, you can come, Toriel," Frisk said before me.

Toriel had seemed to be holding her breath because she let it all out, "I was hoping you'd say that." She started to walk out of the living room, "Let me grab my things and we'll depart."

Frisk looked at me and smiled, I smiled back. Whatever was next, at least we wouldn't be alone. I remember the compliment Frisk had given me. I decided to start a compliment war, "Hey Frisk?" I said. She looked at me, "Your hair looks nice."

I know she was trying her best to prevent it, but a little bit of red came on her cheeks, "So we're starting a compliment war now, are we?" I nodded with a smirk, "Oh, it's on. And I can guarantee that you won't win."

* * *

Me and Frisk complemented each other the entire time Toriel was gone. From the color of our hair to the way we dressed, we complemented every aspect of each other. We had done it so many times that it was no longer awkward to throw out a compliment casually. When Toriel walked in, we didn't stop. Eventually, though, we ran out of things to compliment, so we agreed to continue later. We followed Toriel as we entered the one place we hadn't been to, the basement. I just noticed that Toriel had changed out of her robe into winter clothing, she was holding three backpacks as well.

In the basement, it looked much like the Ruins. The only difference was that it was much darker and narrower. We followed Toriel as she walked down the only path. After a long time of walking, we finally reached the end of the path. A huge purple door, much taller than Toriel, sat in front of us. It had the same weird symbol that was on Toriel's robe. Toriel stopped in front of the door and turned to us, "Here," she handed us the two smaller backpacks, "I don't have anymore, so don't lose them." I put the bookbag on one of my shoulders, Frisk put it on both. Toriel pulled out the frying pan Grace had given me, "This was left on the bed. Is it one of yours?"

"Yeah, it's mine," I said as I took it from her. I can't believe I completely forgot about it. "Thank you," I said, putting it in my bookbag.

She smiled before turning to the door. She took a few deep breaths, then she began to push at the heavy metal. You could hear it scrape against the ground as it was pushed open. Eventually, the door had been completely open. Toriel regained her breath before speaking, "Come along, children," she said as she walked down the long hall that was now in front of us. We walked after her.

I looked over at Frisk, "You ready?" I asked.

She didn't look at me at first, "Nothing is turning out like I expected it to," she finally looked at me, a smile sat on her face, "But yeah, I'm ready." I nodded before looking straight ahead.

I thought back to our adventures through the ruins. Frisk had known where to go the entire time, and whenever we encountered a monster, she knew just the right thing to say to them. It made no sense to me... I had to ask her how she knew. "Frisk?" I said, looking over at her. She looked back at me, "Be honest with me, how did you know what to do in the Ruins?" She started at me with a blank expression, I guess she wasn't expecting me to ask that. She looked away from me and sighed. I felt like I knew what she was about to say, "And please don't say 'You'll see soon enough.'"

She sighed once more, "Do you really want to know?" she asked. I nodded, "Okay then. I'll be blunt with you," she looked over at Toriel before looking at me, "I've done this all before, many times," she whispered.

I was confused, "What do you mean?" I whispered back.

She took a second to think before continuing, "I have a power of sorts. Until recently, if I ever felt like getting a fresh start, I could wish for time to reset to a certain point, and if wished hard enough, it would happen." I stared at her blankly, "Look, I know I sound crazy, but think of it like this. How else would I know how to doge ever monsters attack?" She presented a reasonable point.

I looked away from her, "After finding out that monsters really exist, that doesn't sound too crazy." I took a second to take everything she said and looked back at her. "You said until recently. Why can't you use the power anymore?"

"In the last 'timeline', I had freed the monsters from the underground and was living with them. Not wanting to ruin what I had achieved, I prevented myself from using my power. Then, after a long time, I sat at the bottom of the mountain again. Someone had used my power to reset and I couldn't use it anymore. I thought it was you at first, since your soul is like mine. That's why I treated you like shit, I thought you were the reason my life was ripped away from me. But after you asked me about the surface, I realized it was someone else entirely."

"Who?" I asked.

She looked away from me, "His name doesn't exist, so even if I told you, you wouldn't understand."

I was going to ask her more but felt that I shouldn't. Instead, I simply looked forward. Another door sat in front of us. Toriel pushed it open with much more ease as she stepped through. We followed after her. What greeted me on the other side was...

...

...

 **︎** n _ **ot** **H** **i**_ **n** g...

* * *

I blinked a few times and glanced around, Frisk stood next to me like before, only darkness surrounded us. It wasn't the type of darkness you'd see when you turn off the lights, it was the type of darkness that surrounded outer space. It was n _ **ot** **H** **i**_ **n** g _ **n**_ e _ **ss.**_ It didn't feel like a floor was below me, but I still didn't fall. I couldn't feel my heartbeat, but I was still alive. My lungs wouldn't suck in air, but I didn't collapse. What I considered normal hadn't seemed to seep into this place. I looked over at Frisk expecting to see a terrified expression similar to what I had, but no, I saw nothing but anger behind her eyes.

Symbols I couldn't comprehend started to zoom past us. They formed into a spiral not too far in front of us. They started to come together to form... something. More and more symbols appeared only to be sucked into the spiral. With a quick burst of light, they all vanished. A being I couldn't make sense of stood in front of us. His body was impossible to make out because it held the same color that nothingness possessed, but I somehow still knew it was there. A white oval floated above it, I thought it might have been the head, but I wasn't entirely sure. If it was the head, it was currently turned around, staring out at the infinite nothingness. Two hands bigger than most houses appeared in front of us, a hole sat in the center of each. They started to make symbols, most of which were symbols a hand couldn't even make. Despite me not paying attention or knowing the symbols, I still knew what the symbols that were made meant.

" _ **Y**_ ou _ **f**_ **in** _a **l**_ **l** _ **y mad**_ **e** _I **t...**_ " I don't know how I knew this, but I knew the hands were speaking for the thing in front of us.

I felt almost frozen, but Frisk clearly didn't. She was charging up to the thing in front of us, her fists clenched, "I was finally living out my life on the surface..." she raised her fist, "Then You Had To Come Along And RUIN IT!" she screamed as her first came rocketing down. Right before it made contact with the thing, another hand appeared and swooped her off of the nonexistent ground. Frisk began to punch and kick at the hand repeatedly, "Let ME GO!" she shouted. The hand dropped her next to me before a wall of bones came shooting out of the ground, preventing us from reaching the thing. There was just enough space between each bone to see what was on the other side.

The hands began to make symbols again, this time with the third hand as well, _**"**_ Y o _ **u** k **n**_ **ow** _ **j**_ us _ **t** a **s** w **e**_ **ll** _ **a s I th**_a **t** _ **t**_ **he** _re **was**_ no ch _ **oice."**_ The hands spelled out in the strange language.

Frisk ran up to the bones and put her hand through them, almost as if she was trying to reach for the thing, "Stop Talking In Your Damn Symbols! I Know You Know How To Speake English!" she shouted.

The thing turned around, it's face was horrifying. It looked like it's eyes were melting, two tiny white dots acted as the pupils. It's mouth looked similar to it's eyes, it had a neutral face. " _Very well..."_ it said, their voice made my spine shiver. " _Will this help you calm down?"_

Frisk chuckled, the anger still prevalent in her voice, "Calm down?" she said. "You want me to calm down?" She paused, "You RUINED my FUCKING LIFE!" She screamed as she shook at the bones, they didn't budge.

The thing didn't say anything for a few seconds, " _I see now_..." it's voice bounced around in my head, almost as if I was thinking of the words instead of hearing them, " _Too little time has passed for you to calm down_." Their body started to change back into the symbols, _"I will try again once you have forgotten_ ," they said as the last piece of them turned to the symbols. The hands and bones turned to the symbols as well.

The symbols formed a vortex around us. Frisk had formed tears in her eyes, "I Will Never Forget!" she shouted at the symbols. A burst of light filled my vision and...

* * *

I opened my eyes, a snowy forest greeted me, Toriel was nowhere in sight. The trees were huge and had snow covering their leaves. I shivered, it was freezing. I had no idea what had just happened... it was too much for me to take in. I turned to Frisk, the tears were still in her eyes. She blinked a few times and looked over at me. Then, without any warning, she started to collapse. I was able to catch her just before she reached the bottom. I pulled her up, she couldn't stand straight so I held her up, "Are you okay?" I asked.

She took a few deep breaths, "Yeah," she said. She gently pushed me off of her, "I'm good." Her face was as red as a tomato, but I don't think it was because she was embarrassed.

So many questions were in my head, but I was able to covert them all into one, "What the hell just happened?" I asked.

Frisk continued to breathe deeply, "You just saw the man that never existed," she said.

"The guy who caused the rest?" she nodded.

I was going to say more, but a door behind us creaked open. I turned around, Toriel's face greeted me. "How did you two get ahead of me?" she asked, out of breath from pushing the door.

"We found a shortcut and thought you were following us," I was impressed with how quick Frisk had come up with that lie.

Toriel walked in front of us, taking the lead, "Well, be more observant next time. I would hate for us to get separated." She began to walk down the path engraved into the snow, "Follow me, Children. We have a long way to go." I gave Frisk a thumbs up, she gave me one back as we started to follow Toriel.

The path was much darker than I was expecting, I could barely see past Toriel. The forest had gotten denser, and the snow had gotten thicker. It was strangely quiet, only the sound of snow crunching underneath our feet could be heard. Nothing had happened when the sound of snow crunching came from behind me. I snapped around, no one was there. "Don't be scared," Frisk whispered in my ear. "He always does this."

Even though that didn't help to calm my nerves, it was nice to see that she was looking out for my feelings. We continued to walk down the path, Toriel hadn't seemed to notice the rustling coming from all directions. I heard something snap incredibly close behind me, but following Frisk's instructions, I resisted the urge to turn around. After a while of walking, we finally reached the end of the path. A bridge greeted us, bars too big to stop anyone hanged off a tree above it. I could see a figure approaching from the distance, Toriel seemed to notice this as well since she wasn't letting us go any farther. She raised her hand up and a ball of fire appeared, "Who's there?" she asked the figure.

The figure kept approaching. It eventually stopped on the bridge and leaned against one of the bars. I could get a clear description of them now. They were shorter than I was expecting, they were about the same height as Frisk, so I was slightly taller than them. Their head was down and they wore a blue jacket, their hood was on, so I couldn't make out any features of the head. Underneath the jacket they wore was a white t-shit, their neck looked like that of a skeleton. They had black shorts and pink slippers on, their legs were bare-bones... literally... they were a skeleton.

They looked up, their head was rounder than your typical skeleton, but it still looked much like a skeleton. They had a small, almost unnoticeable smile on their face and their nose resembled an upsidedown heart. They had eyesockets for eyes, somehow, bags sat under their eyes. Big white dots acted at pupils, black surrounded them. They examined our group for a few seconds, "Sup," a gravely, but friendly voice said.


	5. Snowdin

Toriel stared blankly at the skeleton. She blinked a few times, "I recognize that voice," she said before the fireball in her hand disappeared, "You're the man that told me jokes from behind the door."

The skeleton slightly nodded, "And you're the lady that laughed at them," he said, his mouth never opened but you could still see movement. He walked up to Toriel and stuck his hand out. He glanced at me before quickly looking back at Toriel, "I'm Sans. Sans the Skeleton."

She smiled, "Toriel," she said, returning the handshake. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you."

Sans's smile grew wider and he began to giggle, I couldn't tell why at first, but once I did, I smiled as well. Faint at first, the sound of someone farting came from his hand, it grew louder by the second. It became so loud, that you'd have to be death not to hear it. Frisk let out a chuckle while Toriel began to howl with laughter. Eventually, the sound faded. Toriel was still laughing, "The old whoopie cushion in the hand trick," Sans said. He let go of Toriel's hand, "Gets them every time." Sans paused as Toriel still laughed. Once she had finally died down, he continued, "What brings you out of the Ruins?"

Toriel looked back at us with a smile, "These two wanted to go home," she looked back at Sans, "So I thought I'd help them accomplish that."

"Well then..." he stretched both of his arms out like he was presenting something to us. I hadn't noticed the white gloves on his hands until now, "Welcome to Snowdin," his smile once again became wide, "I bet you'll _glove_ it here," he said with a wink.

Before Toriel could burst out into laughter, and believe me when I was she was going to, a fastly approaching figure appeared behind Sans. The snow violently crunching under their weight told me they were stomping. "Sans!" the figure shouted. The best way I could describe their voice is that it sounded like Skeletor from He-Man, but louder.

Sans gave us another wink before turning around, "Sup, bro," he said as they stopped in front of him. They were tall, maybe even taller than Toriel. They wore a red scarf and had what looked like armor on their chest. They hed red gloves and red boots on as well, he seemed to have a permanent smile on his face, similar to Sans, but his eyes told me he wasn't happy. His eyes were lacking in pupils, but the shape of them was just right, so he didn't look creepy. He was a skeleton, this could be seen from his bare arms and legs. Unlike Sans, he could actually move his jaw. "Something the matter?" Sans asked.

The tall skeleton did the skeletal equivalent of furrowing his eyebrows, "Of Course 'Somethings The Matter!'" he shouted, but not in a threatening way. "I Told You To Man Your Station, But Instead You're Over Here Lollygagging About!"

"I was manning it, I'm just on one of my regularly scheduled breaks."

"All You Ever Do Is Take Breaks!"

"That's why they're called 'regularly scheduled breaks,'" he said with a wider smile.

While the two skeletons went back and forth, Frisk leaned over at me, "That's Papyrus. He's nice once you get to know him." I looked at her with a raised eyebrow before focusing back on the skeleton's conversation.

"Why Are You Even Over Here, Sans?" Papyrus semi-demanded. Even though Sans clearly wasn't blocking his view, he stepped out of the way and gestured at us. Papyrus glanced over me and Frisk not paying much mind, but his jaw fell off when he saw Toriel... literally. He picked up his jaw and put it back in place, "King Asgore?!" he said to Toriel, "What Are You Doing In Snowdin?" Nothing was said for a few seconds, then Papyrus put his hands on his hips and posed like a superhero, "Have You Come To See My Award-Winning Puzzles? And Before You Ask, I, Of Course, Gave Myself The Awards."

Toriel crossed her arms, "I am not Asgore."

Papyrus rubbed his eyesockets and somehow squinted at her. Sans stepped in the way of the two, "Bro, this is Toriel," Sans gestured at Toriel, "Asgore's ex-wife."

Papyrus stared blankly at Sans, "Asgore Is Married!?"

" _Was_ ," Toriel said, her arms still crossed.

Nothing was said for a few seconds, then Papyrus's angry eyes returned, "That Still Doesn't Explain Why You're Over Here, Sans!"

I was getting bored just standing there and watching, so I walked in front of Toriel, "I think it's cause he found us," I said, referring to me and Frisk

Papyrus squinted at me before kneeling down and leaning over to Sans, "Sans, What Type Of Monster Is That?" he loudly whispered at him.

Sans leaned over to Papyrus's non-existent ear, "I think that's a human," he said at normal volume.

Papyrus's eyes lit up "A HUMAN?!" he screamed. He shot up and once again posed like a superhero, his scarf began to fly into the wind that was somehow underground, "Human!" he shouted.

Frisk poked her head out from behind Toriel, "Actually, there's two of us," she said, walking next to me.

"Oh. Excuse Me," Papyrus said before coughing into his hand a few times. He regained his heroic pose, "Humans! I, The Great Papyrus, Stand In Your Way!" he shouted. His hands began to move his hands while he spoke, "After Dazzling You With My Award-Winning Puzzles And Filling You Up With The Best Cuisine In The Underground, I Will Single Handidly Capture You And Bring You To The Captin Of The Royal Gaurd, Guaranteeing My Place In The Royal Gaurd!"

Sans leaned over to Toriel, "Don't worry, he wouldn't hurt a fly," he whispered, reassuring her.

I smiled, "Okay, The Great Papyrus, what is your first puzzle?"

He raised one of his fingers, "I..." he slumped down, "...haven't thought that far yet." He paused before regaining his posture, "But I Am The Master At Improv!" he shouted. Papyrus pointed at Sans, "Sans! Distract The Humans With Whatever It Is You Do While I Set Up the Puzzles!"

Sans lazily saluted him, "Aye aye, Captin," he said.

Papyrus began to run off in the direction he came from while shouting, "NYEH HEH HEH!"

Once he had fully left our line of sight, Sans turned to all three of us, "So... would you like a tour?" We all looked at each other and nodded. An alarm started to go off under Sans's jacket. He pulled down his sleeve and looked at the watch on his wrist, "Oh...looks like my break's up...sorry," he said, putting his arm down. Toriel opened her mouth when another alarm when off. He once again put his wrist up to his face, "Okay, my lunch break just started," he spun around and began walking down the path, "Let's go." Toriel chuckled a few times while she started to follow him. I looked at Frisk with a blank stare, she looked back with a smile before we ran to catch up.

Snowdin was... snowy. In other words, there wasn't a lot to it. We passed a few objects here and there, like Sans's sentry station, but nothing too interesting. Frisk had a smile on her face the entire time, she had been like that ever since she told me about her "power." I must admit, it was hard to believe that she had essentially time traveled. Every once and awhile, Frisk would whisper in my ear things that happened in a different timeline or giggle at something random like a rock. Real or not, it was nice to see her smile and laugh, she had done so little of that in the Ruins. Having Toriel accompany was nice too. Whenever a monster would run into us, Toriel would give it a death glare and they would run away. Sans, besides saying the occasional pun which would always lead to Toriel dying of laughter, didn't make much of a difference. Despite that, I couldn't help but enjoy his cheesy puns.

* * *

After tiptoeing past a sleeping royal guard, walking through a sheet of ice where I, of course, fell on my ass while Frisk skated across angelic like, and going through Papyrus's first puzzle of which completely backfired in his face, we finally got a chance to breathe. We all agreed to take a short break. Toriel and Sans went over and sat down by a tree, Frisk was attempting to kick a hard snowball into a hole, and I was just standing there, not sure what to do. Feeling bored, I looked over the edge of whatever we were on. It was like I was looking down a mountain. A vast forest stretching as far as the eye could see was what took up most of the view, but there were a few houses strewn about. I was still grasping that this was all in a cave. My sightseeing was interrupted by a loud voice.

"Human!" Papyrus shouted from behind me. I spun around, the tall skeleton was standing next to what looked like an ice cream cart, a blue bunny stood next to it. The blue bunny was leaning against the cart, they were somehow wearing short sleeves. Papyrus waved at me like I couldn't make him out from a mile away, "Over Here!" he shouted, a rainbow cone of what looked like ice cream sat in his hand. I guess he was taking a break too. Feeling nervous, I looked over at Frisk. She was patting down the snow to make another snowball, her previous one was a puddle not too far from her.

Not wanting to ruin her fun, I decided I'd face the skeleton alone. I walked up to Papyrus, "Hey Papyrus," the ice cream in his hand glowed faintly, "You taking a break too?"

Papyrus attempted to lick the ice cream but realized he had no tongue, "Yes! And A Well Deserved One At That," he bit into the ice cream, "You Wouldn't Believe How Hard It Is To Build An Electric Maze In Five Minutes." Even if his puzzle did backfire, it was still impressive how fast he built it.

"You got a point," I said. I once again looked over at Frisk, she had built a giant snowball and was currently rolling it to the hole. I smiled and looked back over at Papyrus, my stomach growled when it saw his ice cream. I guess Toriel's pie had already worn off, "What ice cream flavor is that?" I asked.

Papyrus squinted at me before realizing I was staring at his hand, "You Mean Nice Cream?" Not knowing if we were talking about the same thing, I nodded, "It's Rainbow," he took another bite, "The Most Manly Flavor Of Nice Cream!" I have a feeling that statement wasn't accurate. He must have noticed the slight bit of drool that was coming from my mouth because he pointed at the blue bunny behind me, "You Can Buy It From Him If You Want Some."

I turned around, the blue bunny smiled at me, "Yep!" they said, "Nice cream is now only 15G because of the lack of sales."

I dug into my pockets and brought out all the gold I had collected. If I wasn't miss counting, I had 34 gold coins in my hand, more than enough. I was about to hand over the money when I heard Frisk scream a joyful cheer. I turned my head to her, she stood triumphally above the hole, her huge snowball slowly sinking into it. I couldn't help but smile seeing her so happy. I turned back to the blue bunny and stared at the gold coins in my hand. I ended up handing double the required amount, "Two, please. I don't really mind what flavor," I said as I put the 4 coins I had left in my pocket.

Papyrus's jaw almost fell off again, "Two Nice Creams!? You Must Be Hungry." Instead of explaining why I bought two, I just smiled and nodded. Papyrus regained his heroic pose from earlier, "Worry Not, Human! I, The Great Papyrus, Will Fill Your Belly With The Best Cuisine In The Underground!"

I turned to him, "But aren't you supposed to be capturing me?"

"Of Course I Am! But There Is No Rule That Says I Can't Make The Humans I Capture Spaghetti!" he dropped his ice cream in the snow, "Now I Must Go! I Have A Feast To Prepare!" he shouted as he began to run off. "NYEH HEH HEH!" was the last thing I heard come from him.

I walked over to Frisk, she was staring with a smile at the direction Papyrus had runoff. "Hey," I said, causing her to jump a little.

She turned around, "Oh. Hey Jack."

I looked at the melted puddle below her feet, "So, what were you doing?"

She looked down at the puddle as well, "I was just trying to get some gold," she dug something out of her pockets and held it in front of me, "But I got this instead." She was holding a damp poster that said " **OUT OF GOLD** " in big, bold letters.

"So you went through all that effort for nothing?" I asked. She nodded, tearing up the poster as she did. "Well, I think you deserve to be rewarded," I stuck out one of the nice creams in front of her, "Here."

She looked at me and blinked a few times, "Really?" I nodded. She took the nice cream, "Thank you!" she said as she licked it. I heard an audible "Mmmh" as she began to devour it, "I love these things!" she said with her mouth still full of food.

I chuckled, "I'll make sure to remember that," I said as I began to start on my nice cream.

As I was about to continue our conversation, Toriel and Sans walked up to us. "You two ready?" Sans asked.

"Yep!" Frisk said. I looked over at her and held back a laugh, the nice cream had completely disappeared from her hand and transferred to her face. I must admit, I was impressed with the mess on her face.

"Okay then," Toriel turned to Sans, "Lead the way, Sans."

* * *

After hours of puns, snow, puzzles, and walking, a bridge sat in front of us. The drop below it looked impressive but was just the same as all the other drops. Walking across the bridge was difficult, it was surprisingly rocky. A small town greeted us on the other side. A big sign hanged above the city, it read, "Welcome to Snowdin!" in blue and read text. Christmas lights hanged off of it as well. Buildings had smoke coming out of their chimnies and the chatter of monsters filled the air. The buildings varied in shape, color, and size. A taller than average Christmas tree sat in the middle of the town, gifts surrounded it. Monsters paid me and Frisk no mind when we strolled on by, it was like they didn't know what a human looked like. Sans went over and rested against a set of two buildings, one of the formless blobs sat next to him. He pointed at one of the buildings, "This is an Inn if you guys wanna rest," he said.

Toriel dug into her pockets and pulled out a bag, you could hear the jingling of coins come from it, "I think that's a good idea," she said as she walked into the building.

Frisk followed after her. I was about to as well when I felt the lightest tap on my shoulder. I spun around, no one was there but I could hear the faintest giggle come from all directions. Sans was staring at me weirdly, "You okay, kid?" he asked.

I turned to him, the giggling stopped when I did, "I-I think so."

He nodded his head before coming off the wall, "Well, while I got your attention, you should come meet me at Grillby's when you get out of the Inn," I could have been seeing things but I swear his eyes dimmed slightly, "I got a few things to say." He began to walk back into the forest, "And if you don't know where to go, ask Frisk."

 _How'd he know Frisk's name_ _? We never told him either of ours,_ I thought. Even though he wasn't too far away, when I blinked he had vanished. Not feeling safe, I rushed into the Inn. The cold on my cheeks began to vanish as I looked around. Toriel was in front of a bunny and the bunny was behind a counter, they seemed to be having an in-depth conversation about the price of something. Occasionally, a small white bunny would poke it's head up from behind the counter before disappearing. A set of stairs sat to the left. Frisk sat on a red couch, she waved me over. I walked over and took a seat not too far away from Frisk, but not too close either. "What's going on?" I asked.

She looked over at Toriel, "Toriel is trying to rent three rooms, but she only has enough for two," she responded.

"Why do we need three rooms?"

She raised one of her eyebrows, "There are three people in our party. Why else would we need three rooms?"

"Oh yeah..." I looked away from her, "I'm just used to sharing a room is all, so I didn't question it."

"Ah, I see. You share a room with one of your siblings?"

I didn't look back up at her, "Yeah," I lied. There was no point in getting into my past right now.

Frisk looked like she was about to say something, but Toriel approached us with a frown, "I'm sorry my children, but I could only get two rooms. You'll have to share one."

"Okay..." I said.

"That's fine..." Frisk said at the same time.

Instead of awkwardly pausing, I decided to continue, "It wasn't a problem in the Ruins, so it shouldn't be now," Frisk nodded slowly as I finished.

Toriel must have been holding her breath because she let out a big breath of air, "Thank goodness. I was worried you would complain." She walked back up to the counter, grabbed something, and went to the stairs, "Come along now," she said before walking up them. Me and Frisk looked at each other before following after her. A hallway greeted us. I counted a total of six doors. Loud snoring came from one of the rooms, thankfully though, Toriel walked by that room. She stopped at the end of the hall and handed Frisk a key, "Your room is right there," she pointed at the door to the right of us, "I'll be right down there if you need anything," she said to the both of us. She began to walk to her room, "Have a nice rest, my children," she said before entering her room.

Frisk fumbled with the key for a bit before opening the door. A red double bed, table, and dim lamp greeted us. A pile of blankets sat on the table. I sighed, "Okay," I walked up to the table and picked up the blankets, "I'll start working on my bed."

Frisk went over and sat down on the bed as she began to fidget with her hands, "This is better than what I'm used to," she said with an uneasy voice.

I started laying down the foundations of my makeshift mattress, "What are you used to?

Frisk took the hair tie out of her hair, "The bed is usually a lot smaller, and I can usually hear a bunch of guys snoring."

"How did you ever sleep in that?"

She chuckled, "I didn't. I'd leave the room in two minutes.

I nodded before focusing on my makeshift mattress. After I finished, I kicked off my shoes and took my jacket off, Frisk did the same shortly after. I wiped my hands off and looked at my handiwork, it looked ten times more comfortable than my last. I was proud and my face probably showed it. I threw a few pillows from the bed on to it and looked at Frisk, "Well, goodnight," I began to lay down, "Is it even night?" I mumbled to myself as I pulled the blankets over me.

"Goodnight," she said as I heard the blankets fall over her. I heard the lamp next to her click off as my eyes were filled with darkness. I rolled to my side and tried to drift off into sleep but it was harder than I thought it would be, the makeshift mattress was a lot harder than it looked. I began twisting and turning under the covers but I could never get comfy enough. I must have been making quite the scene because I heard Frisk's voice, "Hey Jack?" she said.

I didn't bother opening my eyes because of the lack of light, "Yeah?" I asked.

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, "You can..." her voice began to trail off but it sounded like she forced it to come back, "...come up here if it's too hard to sleep down there."

I was a bit surprised. I sat up and looked at her, I could just barely make out her face, "You sure?" I didn't want to make her feel uncomfortable.

A small smile formed on her face, "Yeah, I'm sure," she looked away, "It's the least I can do for how bad I treated you."

"Well...okay," I put the pillow back on the bed and stood up, "Just kick me out if you start feeling uncomfortable." She gave me a small nod. I took a deep breath and climbed into the bed.

I knew the rules for sharing a bed. Don't face the person your sharing it with and try not to snore. I had shared a bed with Comet a thousand times over and never felt weird about it, but Frisk was a different story. Maybe it was because I didn't know her too well but the entire time I was filled with a weird feeling. I never turned away from my side and could feel how hot my cheeks were. Every time I felt her roll over or adjust her position, I would scoot a little bit more towards the edge. The bed was a lot more comfortable physically, but it certainly wasn't mentally. I eventually shut my eyes and tried my best to trick myself into thinking I was sharing a bed with Comet. That thankfully seemed to work as I felt myself finally drift off into sweet sleep.


	6. A Talk

My eyes slowly opened, I could hear faint breathing come from next to me. I almost shot up, but then I realized it was just Frisk. I looked over at her, she was facing me and was significantly closer than I remembered. Thinking that I had moved closer, I tried to scoot over but almost fell off the bed, I was already at the edge. I also just realized the hand across my chest, it was Frisk's. This situation had happened a few times with Comet, but my cheeks never lit up as bright as they did then. Trying my best to move as little as possible, I grabbed her arm and slowly lifted it off of me before gently putting it on the bed. Frisk shifted a bit and mumbled something before rolling over and starting to hold the blanket like a person. I sighed from relief before gently taking the covers off and getting out of bed. I didn't know what to do but stand there. Then, after a while of staring at Frisk, Sans's words replayed through my head.

I put my shoes on, even though I had no idea where Grillby's was, I felt like it would be easy to find. After putting back on my jacket and grabbing a spare key from the table, I walked out of the room. The sound of snoring still echoed through the hallway. I walked through it and down the stairs, the innkeeper waved at me as I left the building. The nice heat I had slept in quickly left me, I somehow forgot how cold this place was. Lights that had been illuminating the place before had been turned off and the monsters that filled the place were missing, it seemed like this is what people here considered "night." The only light sources were the dim, glowing crystal above and the light coming from the buildings.

I walked past the Christmas tree, despite the fact that it was lit up nothing had really changed. I kept walking, after passing a library with a misspelled sign and a few houses, my destination was to my right. A big sign that read "Grillby's" sat at the top, the light pouring through the windows was much stronger compared to the other buildings. I could hear chatter come from inside. Before I could walk in, a voice I didn't want to hear came from behind me. "Is that you, Jack?" it echoed. I turned to face it, the thing from my nightmare stared me in the eye, a smile planted across it's face. I didn't give it a chance to do anything as I rushed into Griiby's.

After my eyes adjusted, a calming sight thankfully greeted me. Monsters varying in size, shape, and appearance sat at tables or were leaning against the walls. Even a few members of the Royal Guard were at a table, they were playing some card game. A jukebox sat in the corner, at the moment it was playing "All-Star" by Smashmouth at a low volume. I began to let my guard down as I started to feel safe. Moody lighting filled the place and a being of fire stood behind a counter, a familiar skeleton in a blue jacket sat in a stool in front of them. Sans was looking down when the fire being poked his shoulder and pointed at me. He looked back at me, his smile wasn't as wide as I was used too, "Took ya long enough," he said. He patted the empty stool next to him, "Go ahead and take a seat, make yourself comfortable."

I followed his orders and walked up to the stool. I felt a few eyes on me, but their stares didn't feel like bad ones. Sans's smile became a lot less wide as I sat down, I shortly found out why. The sound of farting came from below me. He ripped the woopie cushion off, "Gotta be more careful," he handed the rubber to the fire being, "Some weirdos like to put whoopie cushions on seats." The fire being grabbed it and threw it in a trashcan. Sans stared at my face for a bit, "You're a bit late." He looked away from me and his smile became wide, "I knew someone who was always late, that is until his doctor recommended him to sleep in a herb garden." I looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "Sounds strange, I know, but now he always wakes up on Thyme," he said with a wink.

It took me a second to realize, but I chuckled once I did. A good chunk of the other people in Grillby's did as well. "Good one," I said.

"Glad it made you smile." He tapped a few times on the bar, "Grillby, one burg, extra ketchup." The fire being nodded before walking into a door, I could only see fire on the other side. Sans looked back over at me, "Seriously though, it did take you a while," he did the skeletal equivalent of raising his eyebrows and his smile became even wider, "Did you and Frisk do anything... frisky?"

A bit of heat rose to my cheeks, "W-what? No! Of course not," I said, almost shielding my face.

Sans laughed before slapping my shoulder, "Nah. I'm just pullin' your leg, kid. I get that humans need more sleep than monsters." The fire monster, which I assumed was Grillby, came back out with a burger and a bottle of ketchup. He placed the two of them in front of Sans, "Thanks Grillbs," Sans said before pouring a gallon of ketchup on the burger. I can't explain how, but he somehow, without opening his mouth, took a bite of the burger. He looked over at me, "If you want anything, just ask Grillby. It'll be put on my tab," he said, I could hear that his mouth was full.

I shook my head, "No thanks, I'm not really hungry right now."

San shrugged before facing his burger, "Suit yourself," he said as he took another bite. After a while of him just eating, Sans finally said something, "So, I've been meaning to ask ya..." he put his burger down. The jukebox stopped and my surroundings dimmed. I thought it was just Grillby closing down shop at first, but after seeing that everyone around me had froze, I realized that wasn't the case. "Why'd you climb Mt. Ebott?" Sans finished his sentence.

I was slightly confused at first, but then I realized he was talking about the mountain. "Well..." my voice trailed off as I tried to put into words what happened. Then it hit me, I didn't know why I climbed the mountain. Sure, I knew me chasing after Frisk lead to me falling down, but I had no idea why I followed her. Nothing was coming to my mind, so I told him the truth. I looked over at him, "I-I don't know."

He looked at me with a blank stare before turning back to his burger. He looked down at it, his eyes never moving, "That happens to me sometimes." He paused before continuing, "I'll be doin' something or sayin' something, but I'll have no idea why. In those moments, it feels like I'm an actor reading a script or somethin'." A small chuckle escaped his mouth before he turned to me, "If I'm being honest kid, I thought you me weren't gonna get along. I just had this bad feeling about ya. But after seein' how kind you've been to Frisk and everyone else," he smiled a genuine smile, "I think we'll get along just fine." I didn't know what to say so I just sat there. Sans stood up and stretched despite his lack of muscles, "Welp, my lunch break's up." He walked over to the door, everything but me and him were still frozen. He looked back at me "I'll be seein' ya, Jack," he said before leaving the building.

The moment the door shut behind him, everything returned to normal. The jukebox resumed playing All-Star, people began to talk once more, and the lights were back to being bright. Instead of wasting my time wondering how he knew my name or why time froze, I rubbed my face and stood up. Still feeling confused, I walked out of the building and began to walk to the Inn. A few of the lights flickered on while I was walking so I assumed people would begin to wake up. "Jack," something whispered my name from behind me. I turned around, no one was there. I began to pick up my pace as the sound of giggling began to surround me. Thankfully, the Inn greeted me. I walked in, the innkeeper smiled at me as I went up the stairs. Nothing about the hallway had changed. I unlocked my room's door and went in, Frisk was sitting up on the bed staring at me. She had the expression your mom would make when you had been gone all day without telling her, "Where were you?" she asked.

I flipped the lights on, "Sans wanted to talk to me," I said as I started to calm down.

She tilted her head, "He wanted to talk to you? Why?"

I kicked off my shoes and shook my head a few times, "I didn't know when I walked in, and I'm still not 100% sure now," I said as I plopped down on the bed.

She looked off in the distance, "Yeah, most of my conversations with him were like that. I think it's just how he is."

It took me a second to remember the entire "Reset" thing. I nodded a few times before staring off in space. I wanted to continue the conversation, but my mind blanked. Silence began to creep into the room, it wasn't a bad one. That's what I liked about Frisk, we didn't have to say anything to each other and we would still feel comfortable. Nothing more had been said when the giggling I had heard outside began to surround me again. I sat up and looked around, nothing was out of the ordinary. I noticed Frisk was staring at me as the giggling began to fade. I had to know her if she knew about it, "Hey Frisk?" I asked without looking at her. "Have you been experiencing... hallucinations... since you fell down here?"

She squinted at me, "Hallucinations?" she said. I nodded slightly. "No, not really," she said while shaking her head. "Why? Are you?"

"I think so, but I'm not sure."

She got up and stood in front of me, "Well, what are you experiencing?"

I decided not to include the balcony hallucination, "I'll just randomly start hearing giggling, or see this little girl. They'll say a few ominous words, or they'll just stare at me. It really freaks me out."

Frisk's eyes dimmed slightly, "Has the little girl said their name?"

I thought for a second, "They called themself you once, but that's about it."

She frowned, "Do they... wear a striped sweater?" I nodded. Nothing was said for a few seconds, "Great," Frisk said under her breath. She walked over, took a seat on the bed, and began to rub her face.

"So you know what I'm talking about?"

She stared off in space, "Yeah, but I hope I'm wrong."

"Why?"

She looked down and clenched her fists. It took her a few seconds to say anything, "The thing you're seeing isn't human, and it isn't monster. It's..." her voice trailed off, but she brought it back, "... It's the leftovers of a timeline. Something that a Reset can't even erase."

I don't think Frisk knew just how much questions she put into my mind. "What brought it to life?" was the only question I could put into words.

"I..." she stopped herself and looked up at me, I saw terror on her face for the first time. I tried my best to give a comforting smile, but it probably looked more like a constipated one. Frisk stared at me for a few more seconds before looking back down, "I did," she finally let out. "I thought it was this spirit that had been accompanying me because it looks just like them, but no, it was just what I had become in that timeline. Every bad thing I had ever done put into one being."

"Wait, there's a spirt that looks like them... and they follow you? Why aren't they with you now?"

She shook her head, "They just disappeared one day. I didn't know why for a little bit, but I found out. They were so disgusted with what I did that they left." She looked up at me, a little bit of water sat on her eye, "They hate me." She glanced away from me, the water began to leak down her cheek, "I don't blame them. Everyone would hate me if they knew what I did," she said. Her eyes told me she needed comfort, but I didn't know how to give it.

Seeing Frisk like this was... it was... I don't know. The only way I could really put it into words is that feeling you get when you see a loved one cry. She looked so defeated, like the world had come and stomped on her. I was ridden with grief like this was my fault, but I knew it wasn't. I didn't blame myself for what was happening, but I still felt terrible. I had no idea what to do, so I listened to my soul. I felt a strong pull towards Frisk, almost like she was a magnet to me. It wasn't like what I felt with Grace, no, it was much stronger. It took too much energy to keep myself away from her, so I just let it happen.

Almost like someone else was in control of my body, I leaned over and wrapped my arms around her. I let my thoughts pour out of my mouth. " _Don't_ say that! I don't care how bad your deed was, there is no way people could stay mad at an amazing person like you."

She sat there in my arms, motionless, making me have second doubts about the hug. Thankfully, she eventually spoke. "How could you say that after how bad I've-"

I didn't let her finish her sentence, "Stop saying you've treated me bad. You haven't. You've been my only friend through the Underground, and I couldn't be more thankful that I got you." I took a deep breath, "Maybe you see things differently, but you are a great person in my eyes. Nothing you say will change that."

Not a single word was said back to me, none were needed. She slowly returned the hug, placing her head on my shoulder. "You're too nice to me," she whispered, my shoulder becoming a bit damp as she did. Instead of saying anything, I gently patted her back. And we sat there, her crying into my shoulder, and me being a sponge for her tears.

A knock at the door interrupted this... _interesting_... moment. "My children?" Toriel's voice seeped in from under the door, "Are you awake?"

Frisk jolted out of my arms and faced the door. I was expecting her to say something, but she just stared at it. Not wanting to leave Toriel in suspense, I took the lead. "Yeah, we're up," I shouted at the door.

I didn't need to see Toriel to know she was smiling, "Good. Go ahead and get changed then meet me downstairs. Papyrus made us something" There were a few moments of silence before I heard her footsteps echo down the hallway.

Once I couldn't hear her anymore, I turned to Frisk. She was still looking at the door, "You going to be okay?" I asked.

She slowly turned her head to me. An almost unnoticeable smile appeared on her lips, "Yeah, I'll be fine," she said. Her voice was significantly quieter than normal. "Just need a few minutes to clean up."

"Okay." Seeing as I was already changed, I stood up and put my shoes on, "I'll be with Toriel." She nodded a few times as I walked to the door. I thought about saying goodbye, but I would see her shortly so I didn't. I looked back at her one last time before leaving the room and heading downstairs.

Downstairs, Sans and Toriel were sitting on the couch talking to each other. I could hear the occasional pun be thrown in every once and a while and, while a lot less than she normally did, Toriel would die of laughter. They hadn't seemed to notice me when I took a step forward, the floorboard groaned underneath my weight, that seemed to be pretty common down here. Sans turned his head and stared at me for a few seconds before waving. I awkwardly waved back. He leaned over like he saw something behind me and wanted to get a better look at it before sitting straight again, "Where's Frisk?" he asked.

"She's uh..." I paused, not entirely sure what to say. I decided not to mention that she had just broken out into tears. "... changing," I said, finishing my sentence. Sans nodded before turning back to Toriel and continuing their conversation. I glance around the room for a place to sit but they were taking up the only seat. The innkeeper, like they could read my mind, pulled out a stool from behind the counter and handed it to me. "Thanks," I said before taking it and putting it down not too far away from the couch. The innkeeper gave me a smile and nodded.

I sat down, it wasn't comfortable but it was better than the ground. I thought back on the day, so much had happened in such a short amount of time. First, there was the entire conversation with Sans, which I was still confused about, then there was what happened with Frisk. _How much has she done that I don't know about? Does she have depression? Who's the spirit that followed her around?_ Questions like these filled my mind. One thing was for sure, she was not feeling well. I was glad I helped her feel better, even if it was only a little bit.

Almost like she knew I was thinking about her, Frisk appeared from the staircase. Apart from her hair now being in a low, messy bun, she was wearing the same outfit from yesterday. Sans must have been staring at the staircase because he stood up the moment she walked in. "That's everyone," he said. Toriel realized Frisk had entered and stood up, "Let's go," Sans said as he walked through the door. I handed the innkeeper her stool as Frisk and Toriel headed to the door. Toriel went through but Frisk stopped and looked back at me. Frisk let me go first before following behind me.

My assumption from earlier was correct, Snowdin had seemed to wake up. Monsters sat here and there in the streets, their conversations echoed into my ears. We walked by the Christmas tree, a bear-like monster sat underneath it. They were humming a Christmas-esque tune. We walked past Grillby's and the "Librarby" to the outskirts of town. A house I had yet to see sat in front of me, it was lit up with Christmas decoration and a small, wooden shed sat not too far from it. The wood it was made out of was much darker compared to the rest of the buildings around it. Smoke came out of it as well, although it wasn't from a chimney... it was from a window. "This is it," Sans said as he walked up to the door. He jiggled at the doorknob for a few moments before sighing and leaning over to the window that had smoke coming from it. "Bro," he said into it.

Papyrus stuck his head out, he was wearing a chef hat. "What Is It Sans?" the skeleton shouted. "If You Couldn't Tell, I'm In The Middle Of Making The Humans Their Meal!"

Sans pointed at the door, "You didn't unlock the door."

"Where Is Your Key?"

"In the house."

Papyrus furrowed his "eyebrows," "Why Didn't You Bring It With You?"

"Because you said you'd leave the door unlocked."

Papyrus sighed, "Fine. Give Me A Moment." He stuck his head back in before I could hear his footsteps walk off. His footsteps reappeared from behind the door. The doorknob jiggled a few times before I heard struggling from behind the door. It eventually stopped and was replaced by deep breaths. "Sans?" Papyrus's voice eventually came from behind the door.

"Yeah?" Sans responded.

"The Door Is Jammed."

Sans shrugged, "That's fine. We can just climb through the window."

"Yeah, I Guess You..." Papyrus's voice trailed off. It eventually came back in an explosive manner, "Wait! I Have An Idea!" He shouted as his footsteps left the door.

Sans stuck his head up to the door, "Papyrus?" he asked. I could hear a few things being thrown around from inside the house. Sans's eyes became wide, "Please don't do what I think you're about to do."

Papyrus's footsteps came back, "I'd Take A Few Steps Back, Sans."

He didn't move, "Seriously Papyrus, we can just go through the window. It's not that-"

"Nonsense Sans!," Papyrus interrupted him. "I Can't Have My Guests Climbing Through Windows!"

Sans took a few steps back, "Papyrus, please don't-"

Before he could finish his sentence, the door came flying off. It landed in the snow behind me. Papyrus stood where the door once was, a battering hammer in the shape of a bone was in his hands. Along with his chef hat, He had an apron covered in a red sauce and oven mittens on."There We Go!" he said as he dropped the bone. He wiped off his mittens before gaining his heroic pose, "Humans!" he shouted. He looked over and saw Toriel, "...And Toriel. I, The Great Papyrus, Welcome You To The Greatest Home In All Of Snowdin!" The wind that was somehow underground howled. A few moments passed, "Well? Don't Just Stand There! Come In!" Papyrus said as he stepped into the house.

I couldn't help but smile. I turned around expecting to see Frisk doing the same... she wasn't. She was staring off in a direction we hadn't gone yet, her eyes were empty. I don't even think she saw what Papyrus did. Her body was stiff, the only sign that she wasn't frozen in place was the slight raising and lowering of her chest. I could have been wrong, but it didn't look like she was blinking. Somehow, her skin was pale. "Frisk?" I said low enough so the rest of the group wouldn't hear. Her fingers and lips began to twitch, I had a feeling I didn't cause that. I grabbed her shoulder and shook it slightly, "Frisk?" I said slightly louder than before.

The color returned to her cheeks, "Huh?" She turned her head to me, her eyes regaining her soul as she did. I waited for her to say something... she never opened her mouth. Instead, she just stared into my eyes.

I felt a bit weird so I decided to speak up. "Are you feeling alright?" I asked.

She blinked a few times before a small smile appeared on her face. Without warning, she did something that completely caught me off guard... she pulled me into an embrace. "Yeah..." she said, adjusting herself. "Yeah, I'm just fine." Not wanting to make the situation awkward, I wrapped my arms around her. If I'm being honest, it felt nice. A lot nicer than any other hugs I had received. Her hug lasted longer than mine, but it did eventually end. She let go of me, looked up at me, and smiled... I couldn't help but smile back.

I turned around, Sans was leaning against the now empty door frame. I could see Toriel inside, "You two coming or what?" Sans asked. "I know my brother's cooking isn't the best, but he's improved," He said even though neither of us had tried it.

Frisk walked past me, "Yep! Just had to do something," she said as she walked inside.

Sans looked over at me and shrugged before he walked inside. The cold began to make me shiver, so I walked in after them.


	7. Strange Events

Despite the lack of a door, the house was much warmer than outside. The house had a strange color scheme, but it somehow worked. It had a carpeted floor with a blue pattern and red walls. The living room was to the left, the TV was playing a dancing robot which I found... strange. A sock was sitting next to the TV, it had a tiny, black suit jacket and tie on. There was a kitchen in front of me, the sink was taller than Papyrus and a few plates of cooked noodles sat on a counter. Smoke was coming out of a pot on the stove, it drifted out into an open window. A table sat in the way of the kitchen, chairs sat around it. A small rock on a plate took up one of the seats, it had a small bowtie on and was "sitting" in a booster seat. Papyrus took off his hat, "Go Ahead And Take Your Seats. Dinner Will Be Served Shortly!" he shouted before rushing into the kitchen.

Sans walked over into the living room and plopped down on the couch, Toriel randomly took a seat at the table, and Frisk sat down right next to the rock. Frisk did something I wasn't expecting... she reached over and pet the rock like it was a dog. I decided not to question it any further and took a seat next to Frisk, "So, have you tried Papyrus's spaghetti in another timeline?" I asked quite enough so Toriel wouldn't hear.

She nodded her head, "It has a... interesting... taste," she smiled, "I think you'll like it."

I turned away from her, "Okay then." I looked over at the kitchen, Papyrus was frantically preparing and throwing a range of ingredients into the smoking pot. He was currently chopping up a tomato, I was impressed with the speed his hand was moving. I smirked before looking over at Toriel. Something looked different about her outfit. It looked identical to the one she wore yesterday, but a tad more formal. Also, her eyes had eyebags that were lacking yesterday. "How have you been Toriel?" I asked.

She turned her head to me and smiled, "Good, Jack," she said in her warming voice. "Although, I do wish I chose a different room last night."

I leaned back in my chair, out of the corner of my eye I could see Frisk glancing between me and Toriel. "Why's that?" I asked, having an idea of what the answer might be.

Toriel sighed, "The people next to me were quite loud with their snoring." She yawned, "It was almost like they were performing a symphony."

Frisk cringed before looking down and fidgeting with her hands, "Oh..." she emitted faintly from her mouth. Frisk looked up at her, "... I'm sorry Toriel," she said a bit louder. Why did she blame herself?

Toriel blinked a few times before smiling, "No need to say sorry, Frisk. There is no way you could have prevented it."

Frisk tightened her grip onto the air under the table, "But I..." her voice trailed off as she looked away from her. Seeing where this was going, I patted Frisk's shoulder a few times. She looked over at me, I tried my best to put my soul behind my smile. I was expecting to have to say a few words to her but no, a simple glance was all it took for her to smile back. Frisk turned back to Toriel, confidence behind her eyes that was lacking before. "You know what? You're right," she gained a triumph pose in her seat, similar to what Papyrus would gain, "That is not my fault!" she semi-shouted.

Toriel scratched at her head and gave a confused smile. "Um... it's good you realized that... I guess," she said as supportive as ever despite her lack of understanding for the situation.

A few seconds passed before Frisk's eyes became wide as she examined herself. She slumped back into the chair before coughing into her arm. "Yeah, it is," she said at normal volume. I saw her glance over at me so I gave her a thumbs up. She gave a light smile before returning to staring at the table.

I looked back at Toriel and adjusted myself, "Well, I hope you get better sleep tonight," I said.

Toriel responded by giving me her iconic smile, "Me too."

I was still smiling when I smelt the strong smell of burnt sauce flood the room. I looked over at the kitchen, we were so caught up in the conversation that we had completely missed the piles of black smoke coming from the kitchen. You couldn't even see the kitchen anymore, so I guess the open window wasn't enough. I stared at the black cloud for a few more seconds before I saw Papyrus come out of it, his white attire was stained black. My staring must have caught the attention of Frisk and Toriel because they were staring at him too.

Frisk was the first to speak up, "Papyrus?" she asked. He looked over at her with a smile a kid would give to their parents when they have sugar all over their face. "What did you do?"

"Well... You See..." he began to tap his index fingers together. The oven mittens didn't make this easy, but he still somehow succeded. "...I May Or May Not Have Set Your Food On Fire." Frisk didn't exactly frown when he finished his sentence, but she did something close to it. Papyrus must have noticed this because he instantly gained his heroic pose, "Worry Not Humans! ... And Toriel. Pasta Tastes Best Burnt! Especially The Great Papyrus's Pasta!" this was followed by a loud "NYEH HEH HEH!"

The TV turning off was all I needed to know that we had Sans's attention. "Paps..." he stood up and walked next to his brother. "Unless you're makin' bombs, food shouldn't emit that much smoke."

Papyrus's eyes widened a bit, "Did I Say Food? Because I Meant Kitchen!" Sans slumped down but Papyrus put his hand on his shoulder, "Worry Not, Brother! If Our House Burns Down, We Can Just Live In The Human Containment Facility Masterfully Crafted By Me!"

Sans's pupils got a bit dimmer, "Papyrus?" he said as he looked at the increasingly rising flame. Papyrus looked over at him, Sans did the same. "Get the fire extinguisher."

"Right Away Sans!" he shouted before diving face-first into the couch.

A small yelp from Frisk made me turn around, she was staring at a small flame that had appeared on the table. With the blink of an eye, the flame vanished, Toriel's jacket replaced it. "Do not be afraid, my children," she stood up. A small ember made contact with the top of her head, causing an incredibly small fire in her hair. I couldn't help but stare, Frisk was in a similar boat. "I am the master of the flames-" Toriel nearly finished her sentence but noticed that we were looking at the top of her head. She slumped down, "My hair is on fire, isn't it?" We both nodded.

She sighed as I heard stomping come from behind me, "Worry Not, Toriel!" I snapped around, Papyrus was aiming the fire extinguisher right at Toriel's head. "I Will Save You!" he shouted as he pulled the trigger.

I tried to stop him, "No Papyrus! Wait-" but it was already too late. A beam of foam came out of the extinguisher and covered Toriel's head.

Sans came over and took the fire extinguisher, "Wrong target, bro." He aimed it at the fire but nothing came out.

He fidgeted with it for a few seconds. "Have you ever used one of those things before?" Frisk asked.

"No," he said as he finally pulled the right trigger. Beams came out, smothering the flame. "But there's no time to learn like the present."

After a while, the last bit of flame was finally covered. Black smoke still covered the house, but it was nothing compared to before. The kitchen was a charred remain of it's former self and the black smoke had left it's dust on most of the objects in the house. Sans sighed before dropping the fire extinguisher and collapsing on the couch, me and Frisk stared at each other in amazement, Papyrus stood there like a puppy who just peed on the rug, and Toriel was in the process of wiping the foam off her face. She sighed, "While I appreciate the assistance Papyrus," she spit a bit of the foam out, "It wasn't needed."

Papyrus's eyes had a sad undertone. He looked at all of us, "I Am Deeply Sorry For Being Such A Big Waste Of Time," he said as he slumped down. "You Can Leave If You Want."

I felt bad for the skeleton, so I let my emotions do the talking. I walked up to him, "Hey, don't talk like that. This wasn't a waste of time." I stopped to think for a moment. "In fact, that is probably the most chaotic fun I've ever had."

The skeleton shot up with lit eyes, "Really?!" I nodded. He looked over at Frisk, "Do You Feel The Same Way, Other Human?"

Frisk chuckled, "Of course Papyrus. Anything that involves you is automatically fun."

His eyes lit up even further as he spun around to Toriel. "What About You, Toriel?"

A few seconds passed before Toriel spoke up, "Even though I need a new pair of clothes," she giggled, "Seeing how you and your brother react is quite enjoyable."

The skeleton looked at all of us, his eyes beaming as he did. Suddenly, he looked down to the floor and began to rub his chin, "So If All Of You Enjoyed Your Time..." his eyes became wide, "Does That Mean You're All My Friends?!"

Silence filled the air for a few seconds before I spoke up, "Yeah, I guess you could say-"

"Wowie!" Papyrus shouted before I could finish. "I've Never Had So Many Friends At Once!" He started to pace in circles, "There Are So Many Things We Can Do! We Can Go Outside And Build A Snowman, Have A Snowball Fight! I Could Even Make You Spaghetti That Isn't Ash!" he said as he hopped up and down like a kid that had a little too much sugar. Judging by how apparent Frisk's was, you could probably see my smile from a mile away. Papyrus stood still and began to rub his chin again, "Maybe You Could Even Convince My Brother To Pick Up His Sock," he said just loud enough to be considered a shout.

Sans walked up behind his brother, his eyes closed. "While I'm glad you made friends," he said. He opened his eyes and raised an "eyebrow", "Aren't you supposed to be capturing the humans?"

Papyrus's jaw fell off. He picked it up, "OH MY GOD!" he shouted, his jaw moved like it was still connected to his head. He popped his jaw back on and spun around, "You're Right Sans!" He looked back at us, "But I Can't Capture My Friends!" he looked to the floor, "But If I Don't Capture Them, Undyne Will get Really Mad!" He put his hands on his temples, got on his knees, and looked up, "SANS! What Should I Do!" he said in the most dramatic way possible.

Sans looked down at his brother and shrugged, "I don't know," Sans said simply. "Do what your heart says and all that jazz."

Papyrus put his arms back to his sides, "Sans... You're Useless-" he almost finished his sentence when he jumped up. "Wait, Do What Your Heart Says?" he asked.

"Yeah," Frisk said, "You know, do what you feel is best."

Papyrus faces us and began to rub his chin, "Do What I Feel is Best... What Feels Like The Best Option?" he asked, I had a feeling he forgot we were there. "If I Capture The Humans, Then Undyne Will Let Me Into The Royal Gaurd And I'll Have So Many Friends," he paused, "But If I Do That, I'll Lose The Friends I Already Have..." A few seconds passed with him just rubbing his chin when he eventually put one of his hands on his hip. "Humans!" he shouted out of the blue, making me jump a bit. "After Thourgly Analyzing Each Option Presented To Me..." he pointed at the ceiling with his other hand. "I Have Decided That Your Friendship Means More To Me Than Being Popular!"

A few claps came from Toriel, "Good job Papyrus! You did the right thing."

He put both of his hands on his hips, "Thank You Toriel!"

Toriel, Sans, and Papyrus continued to talk, but since it didn't seem important, I didn't listen. I walked up next to Frisk, the words she said to me when I first saw Papyrus flooded my mind. "You know Frisk, you were right," I said. She turned her head to me and raised an eyebrow, "He's a lot better once you get to know him."

She didn't say anything for a few seconds, but then her eyes lit up, "Oh yeah..." she smiled that smile of hers, "I'd knew you'd like him!"

I looked back over at the group, Papyrus was showing Toriel their couch while Sans looked like he was telling a joke/pun. I chuckled, "Then you know me better than I know myself," I said. As I stared at the group, I thought back over what happened before all this. I grazed over most of the events but one stuck out to me, the hug Frisk gave me. I turned to Frisk, it took a while but I finally felt comfortable asking her awkward questions. "Hey, Frisk?" She turned to me, "It's been eating me up inside and I got to know the answer. Why did you hug me?"

Frisk looked at me for a few seconds before saying anything, "Oh. Well, if I'm being completely honest, I love your hugs. They make me feel so comfy and safe, so I was wondering if I could replicate that feeling by hugging you." I don't know why, but I almost collapsed from the blood rushing to my head. If she had said that like a normal person would, I would have been fine. But she said in such a cute way. I mean, come on, there's no way people wouldn't find that cute. I tried my best to hide my cheeks in a non-awkward way. "Why?" Frisk continued. "Did that make you feel uncomfortable?"

I shook my head, "No. I was just a bit surprised when you did it."

She smiled, "Good!" Without warning, she wrapped her arms around me. "Cause I plan to hug you a lot more!" Forget collapsing, I almost passed out. I wouldn't be surprised if my face felt like a radiator to her. Trying my best to limit my blood flow, I returned the hug.

Even if the arteries in my head were about to explode, the hug still felt nice. That is until, small at first, a pain began to throb in my chest. I tried to ignore it, but it eventually got so bad that I had to let go of Frisk. Frisk let go as I instinctively grabbed my chest, it felt like acid was eating away at my insides. She looked over at me with worried eyes. I felt like I needed to reassure her, "Don't worry," I was barely able to muster out, "I feel-" a sharp jab in my chest caused me to grunt, "-fine." If anything, what I just said made her more worried. All I needed was a few minutes and I'd be back to normal, "J-just need some fresh air," I said as I walked outside, she thankfully didn't follow me.

The cool air dimed my cheeks, it howled as a wolf would. Not wanting to be watched by the passing people, I made my way to the back of Sans and Papyrus's house. Besides for a backdoor that I hadn't noticed inside, nothing was back there. The back door was slightly cracked open. I put both of my hands on my chest and leaned against the wall. The pain, while still strong, felt much weaker. I banged on my chest a few times, that seemed to stop most of it. I wiped my forehead, sweat that I hadn't noticed before appeared on my hand. Once I felt that I could handle a conversation, I walked up to the backdoor and went in.

I shut the door behind me, it was pitch black. _Maybe it's the garage?_ I thought. I felt around the walls for a light switch, it thankfully didn't take long. With a few flickers, the lights turned on. The room didn't match the main house and it certainly wasn't a garage. The floor was tiled purple and the walls were a plain blue. A workshop of sorts took up most of the room, drawers poked out of it and tools and blueprints sat on top. There were no windows and the lights were fluorescent, a gentle hum came from them. Something sat under a tarp, it's shape was like nothing I had seen before. I walked up to the concealed object, it was like a magnet to me. A voice stopped me in my tracks, "I wonder what's under the tarp..." A little girl whispered in my ear.

I spun around, nothing but air. This time, there was no giggling. I turned back to the object, I had to find out. I reached out and pulled the tarp off, what greeted me was...

...

...

 **︎** n _ **ot** **H** **i**_ **n** g...

* * *

I rubbed my eyes, my surroundings had completely changed. N _ **o t** **H** **i**_ **n** g _ **n**_ e _ **ss**_ once again surrounded me. I didn't want to belive I was back here, without anyone to talk to. Strangely, the frying pan Grace gave me was in my hands. I gripped it tight, it was the last thing I had of the real world. I looked around praying to whatever is out there that I wouldn't see that thing from last time. Thankfully, they were nowhere in sight. I picked a random direction and began to walk down it, it didn't feel like I was standing on solid ground. There were no sounds, not even my own breathing. Just the gentle silence of nothing.

My surroundings never changed, I couldn't even tell if I was moving. Feeling desperate to reach the end, I began to run. No matter how fast I moved my legs, it looked like I made no progress at all. My lungs never ran out of air, that was probably because I didn't have to breathe to begin with. I opened my mouth and tried to shout "Frisk!" ... No sound left my mouth. I tried to scream again... the same result. I tried once more... it worked... but I didn't shout what I wanted to. I shouted something my mind couldn't comprehend. I don't even know how my tongue made those sounds.

I stopped running and turned around. A small, white oval sat in the distance, I didn't need a better look at it to know what it was. I tried to turn back but my body didn't listen. It instead took a step forward. Without warning, a voice that was not my own began to bounce around in my head. " _Hello_ , _Jack_." The voice said. It echoed through my head and felt like it left a scar engraved into my mind.

Without having to think, I knew who the voice belonged to. My body decided to finally listen to me as I took a few steps back. _What does it want with me?_ I thought.

Much to my surprise, the voice continued. " _It_ ' _s simple_ , _Jack_." Off in the distance, the oval seemed to turn around. Despite not being able to make it out, their horrifying face sat in my mind. " _I want you dead_."

I froze, regaining control of my voice as I did. "W-what?" I was barely able to must out before I felt something swoop me up. One of the giant hands was nearly squeezing me to death, slowly bringing me closer to the oval. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the frying pan shake ever so slightly.

The oval was coming closer and closer. Once I could make out it's face, the thing began to speak. " _Let me put this in terms you will understand_..." Silence once again filled my head before it spoke up. " _You are what I like to call a glitch_. _Normally_ , _you would never exist_. _But since there's been one too many resets_ , _you were popped out_." Was this thing really comparing me to a computing error? " _Because of you_ , _the timeline is about to collapse in on itself_. _My theory is that if I remove you from the equation_ , _the timeline will restabilize and act like you never existed_."

The hand brought me right in front of it before stopping. So I just sat there hovering, staring a gooey oval. He sounded insane to me. "You're putting my life in the hands of a theory?!"

The face frowned, " _I know. Believe me when I say that if there was another way_ , _I'd do it_. _But there isn't much of a choice_ , _is there_?"

I struggled in the hand, I couldn't believe this was happening. The frying pan's shaking got stronger the more I struggled. "You Can't Just Kill Me!" I shouted. The frying pan began to glow. "There are people I want to see again!"

The frown didn't fade from the oval's face. " _There's no other choice_." A vortex full of strange symbols appeared behind the oval. They began to spin rapidly and fill out a shape. It looked like some sort of animal skull, maybe a goat. It looked bigger than the already huge hands. Eventually, the symbols came together to form a solid object. My guess was correct, it was 100% a goat skull. Horns about as big as the hands poke out of it. It had two circles for pupils, they glowed a bright blue. The skull opened it's jaw, white light began to build inside of it. " _Don_ ' _t be afraid, I am no monster_." I felt my soul pop out of my body, it hovered in front of me. Strangely enough, a small chunk of my soul appeared to be missing. The oval's pupils vanished. " _I will make it quick_."

The white light got brighter and brighter until, after only a few seconds, it looked brighter than the sun. Terror began to set in as I tried to get out. I hit the hand with the frying pan, the hand didn't react while the frying pan began to shake more. I tried to pry my way out but the hand's tight grip wasn't budging. With no other option, I did the last thing I'd ever do. I looked out into the void, "Help!" I screamed as the white light came shooting out of the skull and onto me. Only white filled my vision. I could hear something being blown past me at great speeds. Eventually, the light faded. I wasn't expecting what greeted me.

The frying pan had vanished from my hand and a green bubble surrounded me. It seemed to have a few cracks in it like glass. I was no longer in the hand, instead, I laid on the floor. Grace, in all of her green glory, stood in front of me. Her arms were pushed out and she faced the oval. I jumped up, "Grace?"

The little girl turned her head to me and smiled, "It sounded like you needed help," she said. Despite her being dead, beads of sweat went down her forehead.

The oval furrowed it's "eyebrows." " _I see we will be doing things the hard way_." Four hands surrounded the bubble, " ** _So be it_** ," they said in a low voice.

The hands came crashing down. They produced a loud thud. The bubble began to crack as I looked around frantically, "What should I do?" I asked.

Grace pushed her hands out further, "Run!" she shouted. Seeing no other option, I ran out of the bubble. A thunderous " _ **Crunch!**_ " came from behind me. I moved my legs as fast as I could but it didn't seem fast enough. Thankfully, a small green blob came to my side. It was keeping up with my speed without effort. "Faster!" Grace's voice came from the orb. I tried to follow her advice but I was already going as fast as I could. Sharp pain in my leg caused me to fall onto one knee.

I turned around, to my horror a bone sat sticking out of my leg. Two of the blasters were speeding towards me. Reality warped in front of me before the oval appeared. " _The more you run_ , _the more painful this will be_." it said. The two blasters began to charge up as I closed my eyes as tight as I could. I thought as hard as I could about leaving this place and...

* * *

I opened my eyes, while I wasn't in that place anymore, I certainly wasn't anywhere I recognized. A long hall sat in front of me, the gentle chirping of birds filled the air. Huge pillars and windows sat on the walls, the same symbol on Toriel's robe were on the windows. Orange light filled the place. Somehow, My leg had completely healed. I looked around in awe, "What the f-"

Grace's soul appeared next to me before I could finish, "We need to get out of here!" she shouted.

Before I could ask why, two of the hands came crashing through the windows, " _You can not escape_ ," the thing's voice said.

Without a second thought, I bolted down the hall and through the exit. An Elevator in a gray hall greeted me. I ran up to the elevator and pressed the button frantically. "Come on!" I shouted. It began to slowly open but I was able to squeeze through the crack. Grace floated in next to my side. I repeatedly pushed the lowest floor. The hands came crashing through the walls, the blasters behind them. "COME THE FUCK ON!" I screamed. Just as the blasters were about to fire, the door slid shut. An elevator tune began to play. I sighed and rubbed my face, "Thank god."

Nothing happened for a few seconds when rumbling came from above me. I looked up, dents began to appear in the roof. "Jack? Is that a good sign?" Grace asked.

The lights and music began to flicker on and off, "No." was all I was able to get out before the elevator began to free fall. I braced all of my being for impact and...

* * *

I opened my eyes once more, the endless nothingness greeted me. The oval appeared in front of me, " _Just die already_!" they shouted. Two dozen razor-sharp bones appeared behind them. They came speeding towards me. Seeing no other option, I shielded my face. Right before they made contact, a clear, green shield appeared around my arm. The bones either shattered on impact, or they bounced off. As the shield dissipated, I felt my soul be picked up. I was yanked towards the non-existent wall as I slammed against it. A wall of bones appeared in a split second. Multiple of them stabbed me, others were lodged into me.

I fell onto the floor as a pool of blood formed under me. My soul just barely glowed. I tried to stand up but a bone appeared out of thin air and stabbed me through the chest. I struggled to keep my eyes open as the taste of iron filled my mouth. My soul had vanished. The oval looked down on me, it seemed to say something but my hearing had become far too muffled to make anything out. My vision filled with red as my eyes gently closed.

Cold, dark, nothingness surrounded me, I couldn't even see my body. _Is this... it?_ I thought. _Is this really all death is?_ Nothing answered, minus the chilling sound of nothing. _What about all the religions? Are you telling me none of those are real?_ Still nothing. _I guess that's it then. I just sit here now._ And that I did. Despite being almost identical to the place I was just in, death somehow felt worse. Then, thoughts of the people I cared about filled my head. Comet, my parents, my family... and Frisk. _How is Frisk going to react to me being dead_ _? Will she even remember me? Will she... even care?_ A strange feeling began to fill my nonexistent body. It started from my toes and slowly made it's way up to my head. _What if she does remember? She's already gone through enough as is, this will probably be the breaking point. And what about my family? How are they going to feel when they never see their Jack again?_ The feeling grew stronger and stronger the more I thought. After some time, I finally knew the feeling. _I don't want to die!_

The heat of my body returned to me as I opened my eyes. I sat up, my body was riddled with fatal wounds and yet... I still lived. The bone through my chest vanished, a hole was where it once was. I could see my organs through the hole; it was a weird feeling seeing my own heart. With all of my energy, I stood up. The thing was off in the distance, it somehow noticed this. " _Of course you had to have a determined soul_ ," it said before another bone went flying through my chest.

I looked down at it, it was straight through my heart and yet... I still lived. It still hurt like hell though. I wrapped both of my hands around it and began to pull, the pain was indescribable. Thankfully, it didn't take long for it to come out. You could easily see my heart, even though a hole sat through it, it still pumped out blood like it was nothing. Two blasters formed in front of me, " _It is impossible for your body to survive this_." He said as they began to charge.

They were about to fire when what looked like half of a blaster appeared in front of me. It acted as a shield as the beams fired. They bounced off like nothing. "Hey, Gaster," a familiar, gravelly voice said from behind me. I turned around; there sat Sans, his smile as visible as ever. He walked up next to me, "I knew you had a few screws loose, but I didn't know you were a child murderer too."

The things face distorted slightly, " _ **Stay out of this, Sans**_ ," it said in a low voice.

Sans looked off in the distance. "You see, I'd love to..." His pupils looked the oval dead in the eye as he gained a half-smile, "But I'm not."

Six blasters formed a circle around us. Sans's expression never changed. " _ **Don't think I won't hesitate to hurt you too**_ **."**

Sans sighed, "Gaster, be honest with yourself." His pupils vanished. "You know just as well as me that you won't win this fight."

The blasters hanged in the air for a few more seconds before vanishing. " _You are right_."

"Good," Sans said as he put his hand on my shoulder. He raised his hand and put his fingers together but Gaster spoke before he could speak.

" _You know what you're protecting, Sans._ "

"Yeah, I do." he snapped his fingers. "A living being," he said as everything went black.


	8. A Moment of Peace

When my vision returned, I was back in the room with the machine. My frying pan was back in my hand; what I can only assume was Grace's faint green glow came from it. Sans was next to me. His pupils had returned and he was staring at the machine with intent. I tried to take a step forward but collapsed to the floor, a pool of blood forming below me. I grabbed my chest, my hand being covered with a hot liquid as I did. Sans's eyes widened before he crouched down to my level. He was focused on the fatal wounds, "Holy shit kid, you took a beating," he said. His voice was still monotone, but just barely. He pushed his hands out in front of my chest, a faint green glow emitting from them. "Let me heal that for you."

A tingling sensation began to fill my chest. I looked down at my wounds; they seemed to be slowly sealing shut. I grunted; even though what Sans was doing made it feel better, it still hurt like hell. "Thanks," I said. A few minutes passed and the pain had significantly died down. So much so that I felt like I could hold a conversation. "How'd you know to find me?" I asked.

"Well, you see, I wasn't lookin' for you exactly." He continued to heal my chest before continuing. "A few minutes after you left, the king of the underground gave me a call. He told me that 'two giant skeleton hands came crashin' through his windows.'" He looked to the machine. "Suffice to say, I already knew who it was the moment he said that."

He looked at the machine for a few more moments before looking back at me. "How do you-" I grunted as I straightened my posture. "-know who he is?" I asked as I tried to hide the pain all over my body; it was fine when I was laying down, but it seemed to rush at me once I fixed my posture.

"Gaster?" Sans looked to the side. "It's a long story and I'm not in the mood to tell it." He stared out at space for a few moments before returning his gaze to me. "To cut it short, he was someone I used to work with." _But didn't Frisk say he never existed?_ I thought. He looked at me for a few more seconds before looking back at my chest; out of curiosity, I did the same. The fatal wound was almost entirely gone; the only sign it was ever there was the hole in my shirt. My soul had decided to pop out. It was as bright as ever, but something looked off about it.

It took me a few seconds to figure out what, but once I did, I looked up at Sans. "Sans?" I said. He glanced up at me, his "eyebrow" raised. "I think a piece of my soul is missing."

He squinted at me before looking down at my soul. It was hard to tell, but if you looked close enough, a small chunk of my soul had seemingly vanished. Sans's eyes darted back up at me. "It hasn't always been like that?" I shook my head slightly; my neck felt sore. His eyes became wide as he looked back down at the soul. "That's strange," he said under his breath. He put his hands around my soul; they still glowed a faint green. The only thing this caused was for it to get brighter; the chunk was still very much missing.

"Do you know how to fix it?"

He shook his head as he continued to at it. "I've never seen anything like this." After he realized that my soul wasn't going to get any better, he took his hands off and looked back up at me. "Does it hurt at all?"

I shook my head. "No, actually. I feel great." "Great" may have been overexaggerating. I felt fine, mainly because I was really sore.

Sans looked off in space for a few moments. "Well, it doesn't seem to be affecting you..." He returned his gaze to me. "So you must be fine. Just tell me if anything 'starts goin' wrong; I may have a person who could help." I nodded my head. After a few seconds of staring, his hands stopped glowing as he put one of them into his pocket. "Anyway, you're all healed." He stood up and reached his free hand down. "Let me help you up."

I didn't hesitate to take the offer as I grabbed his hand. He began to pull; for being all bone, he was quite strong. I let go of his hand as I tried to gain my balance; I failed at first, but after resting on a table for a bit, I was able to stand straight. "Thanks," I said.

"No problem." He stared at me for a few seconds before examining my body. "Wow, kid." He looked me dead in the eyes, a wide smile across his face. "Your clothes look worse for wear." It took me a few moments, but I eventually got it. I responded with a laugh and a small chuckle. He turned to the door and started to wall to it. "I'll get you some new ones," he said as he left the room, shutting the door behind him.

I looked down at my chest and touched it through the huge hole in my shirt. "I guess I don't have to walk around with my chest exposed now," I said to myself. I looked over at the frying pan. "I don't know if you can hear me, but... thanks, Grace." I chuckled. "If it wasn't for you, I'd be more than dead right now." I looked around the room as if my backpack was going to be in there. "Now where am I going to put you?"

I couldn't contemplate the answer before the frying pan began to shake in my hand. I glanced back down at it; unlike every other time it had started to shake, it wasn't burning hot. Parts of the frying pan began to break down into pieces and float in front of my hand. Eventually, even the handle joined the dancing pieces. I held my left hand up; the pieces followed it and began to circle around my wrist, picking up speed by the second. It didn't take long for it to get so fast that you couldn't make out the shape of it; it just looked like a blur. It started to emit a bright green light. It was just dark enough that I didn't need to cover my eyes but bright enough that I couldn't see the blur anymore.

Without warning, the light disappeared. Where all the pieces had once been laid a bracelet firmly around my wrist. It was mostly made out of rope and had a complex pattern that lead towards the middle. In the middle, a smooth emerald-like stone in the shape of a heart sat there; I could see my reflection in it because of how smooth it was. If I squinted at it hard enough, I swore I could see a reflection that wasn't my own staring back at me. I moved my wrist around to see the bracelet in full detail. "Wow. This is pretty cool," I said.

A voice began to enter my head and came from all directions. "I know, right?" the voice said. It sounded like Grace, but I couldn't see her anywhere.

I looked around the entire room. "Grace? Are you in here?" I asked, convinced I was crazy.

"Yeah!" she said. "Over here!" her voice now sounded like it was coming from my left. I glanced over there; nothing but air. "No! Not up there," Grace continued. It kinda sounded like she was on the floor. I looked down; the little emerald heart in my bracelet was now glowing. "Down here!" I brought my hand up and looked into the heart. In all her glory, I could see Grace staring back at me with a smile, almost like she was my reflection. "Hey!" she said, making me jump a bit. She waved at me from inside the heart.

"Hey...?" I said, slightly confused. "Why'd you put yourself in there?"

She gave me her joyful smile. "I thought this would make it easier to carry me around."

"I mean, it does. But doesn't turning the frying pan into a bracelet defeat the entire purpose of the frying pan?"

She gave me a confused stare at first, but her expression quickly changed. "Oh, I see what you're saying. No, not at all." She paused for a moment. "In fact, I got a surprise for you. Stick your hand out!"

"Umm... okay?" I said as I complied with her orders. Without warning, green light began to shoot out of the heart and onto my hand. It began to form a shape; I didn't recognize it at first, but that quickly changed. The light was forming a shield in my hand. Only a few moments later and the light stopped. I brought the shield closer to me; the strap was firmly wrapped around my hand and it looked like it was made entirely of glass. "Woah..." I said as I examined it.

"Pretty cool, right?" Grace pipped up.

I knocked on the shield a few times. Despite it's appearance, it emitted a metallic sound with each knock. It had multiple beautiful patterns on the outside of the shield and a small heart sat right in the center. "It's more than cool," I said while trying to prevent my jaw from flying off. "It's amazing!"

"What's even cooler is that you can summon it or put it away anytime you want," she said as enthusiastic as ever. "Try it!"

I stuck my hand out and thought about the shield going away. Almost instantly, the light the shield was made out of started to be sucked back into the heart at record speed. It only took a few seconds before the shield was gone entirely. I smiled, "Wow..." I said, examining the bracelet as I did.

"Now you have a shield!"

I looked at her in the tiny heart. "Thanks Grace." She responded with a smile. I smiled back before putting my arm down and leaning against the workbench. "Now we just gotta wait on Sans."

* * *

It didn't take long for Sans to come back. Beats me how he did it, but he had somehow found clothing exactly to what I was wearing. After quickly changing, I left the room. It felt surprisingly great behind blasted with cold air and seeing the snow on the ground. I was still partly processing everything that had happened; hell, I still hadn't even come to terms that I had basically died. I knew one thing for sure, though... never go in that room again.

We walked up to the front and through the doorframe; after everything that had happened, I almost forgot that Papyrus had blasted off the door. Toriel was helping Papyrus clean the kitchen while Frisk was sitting on the couch playing with her fingers. It didn't take long for Sans to waltz on into the kitchen; I just then realized how good Toriel and Papyrus had cleaned it. Besides for the charred oven, the place practically looked brand new. Toriel and Papyrus glanced at Sans before chatter that isn't worth getting into detail about emitted from the kitchen. Frisk seemed to notice this and glanced at the kitchen, sighed, then returned to her fidgeting; she hadn't seemed to notice me.

I saw an opportunity and there was no way I was going to let it pass. I began to make my way to Frisk, making sure I wasn't making noise on the way. Considering all the times I had accidentally scared Comet, I was pretty quiet as is, so I must have been near-silent when I actually tried to be stealthy. After cautiously tiptoeing over lose floorboards and making sure not to rustle in my clothes, I found myself next to Frisk. She seemed blissfully unaware of my presence, still playing with her fingers. As quickly as I could, I put both of my hands on her shoulders. "Boo!" I said as I lightly shook her.

Frisk jumped so hard that if I wasn't holding her down, she'd blast off to the Moon. "Ah!" she screamed in a quick burst. She glanced over at me, her eyes going from anger to joy in half a second. She jumped off the couch, it slightly jingled as she did. "Jack!" she said, joy clearly in her voice.

"Hey Fris-" I couldn't finish before the wind was knocked out of me by Frisk's fist. She jabbed me surprisingly hard right in the chest.

"You Jerk!" She shouted. Despite the joy she was obviously showing, she seemed to be trying to hide it.

I rubbed my chest. "Yeah, I deserve that," I said as I tried to regain my breath. For a pacifist, she threw quite a punch; either that or I'm just weak. I walked over and plopped down on the couch; even though a few moments ago a bone had gone through my chest, getting the air knocked out of me was still nothing enjoyable.

Frisk's stern expression stayed along with her fist; it looked like it would strike again at any moment. A few moments passed before a more empathetic face washed over her once she saw I still hadn't recovered. "Jeeze, Jack." She sat down next to me, her eyes sad but her mouth a smile. "I didn't punch you that hard."

I stared at her for a few moments before smiling back. "Looks like someone doesn't know their own strength," I said through grunts as the wind came back to me.

Her eyes became progressively more sad as her smile began to vanish, replaced by an increasing frown. "I didn't mean to hurt you that much," she said much more quite than her previous statements.

No way in hell was I going to let my stupid choice make her worry for me. I looked at her as I thought of something to lighten up the mood. It took a few moments but a lightbulb eventually decided to pop it's way into my head. I smiled before making a loud groan (on purpose, mind you) and gripping my chest like I was having a heart attack. "I think you finally did it, Frisk," I said in a way that anyone would recognize as overdramatic. I leaned over my legs and shut my eyes tight, making sure my smile was still visible. "My lungs are collapsing," I said in gasps of air I didn't even need.

Frisk stared at me with squinted eyes before her frown began to disappear, her smile once again being front and center. "Oh no," she said in the same overdramatic voice I used. She put the back of her hand on her forehead and looked to the ceiling. "Whatever will I do to save my dear friend?"

I fell into the arm of the couch and joined in on the ceiling staring contest. "There is nothing you can do, for I already see the light approaching!" Frisk got off the couch as I laid on it like a bed; she looked down at me like I was a dead person in a coffin, her smile as prevalent as ever. I reached out and grabbed her hands. "But will you promise me one thing?"

She got down on her knees and held my hands close to her chest. "Anything for my dearest friend."

I looked her in the eyes. "Avenge my death! Slay thou who hast slain me!" And with that, I made dramatic death noises and moved a bit before closing my eyes and going limp.

I was a bit started when, instead of hearing Frisk's voice, I heard a panicked shout from Papyrus. "HUMAN!" he shouted in the same dramatic voice as us, but I had a feeling he didn't get the joke. This was followed by stomping footsteps before I felt myself be swooped off the couch. I opened my eyes, Papyrus's face greeted me. His eyes were somehow clenched shut (don't ask me how bone did that) and tears leaked from his eyes. I began to be violenty shook. "HE WAS TOO YOUNG!" Papyrus shouted basically in my ears.

"Papyrus," I tried to say while being shaken.

He seemed to have no intention on stopping. "IT'S ALMOST LIKE I CAN STILL HEAR HIS VOICE!"

"Papyrus!" I shouted this time. That seemed to stop him.

He opened his eyes and looked at me; they became wider than I had ever seen them. He began to crush me with a bear hug, my face becoming wet from the tears running down his chest. "I Thought I Had Lost You!" he said through his sobs.

I patted the skeletons back as I continued to let him crush me. "I was just faking, Papyrus. I'm fine."

He continued to sob. "I Would've Never Known! You're Acting Is Just Too Good!"

I sighed; even though I would have preferred to be on the ground, I couldn't help but smile. I looked over at Frisk, she was staring at everything that was happening with a smile wider than before. She saw me staring and gave me a thumbs-up; I responded with one too. I pretended to wipe the invisible sweat off my forehead. _Mission: Try not to be an Idiot and Make Frisk Sad, is a success!_ I thought.

After a few more sobs, Papyrus eventually put me down. I couldn't see it before because, well, Papyrus's chest was in the way, but Sans and Toriel were standing behind Papyrus. Toriel had her hands on her hips, a smile across her face, while Sans stood like he normally would. "I was wondering why there was so much noise out here," Toriel said.

"As Was I, Toriel," Papyrus said before I or Frisk could get anything out. "So I Came Out Here To Check And Saw That The Human Was Dying!" he said in the same dramatic voice as early. "But! On Further Inspection, I Saw That The Humans Were Merely Playing Pretend!"

"Eh," Frisk said. "It's more playing around than playing pretend."

Papyrus turned to her, eyebrow raised. "What's The Difference?"

She slightly shook her head. "Never mind."

Papyrus continued to give her the same stare as silence filled the room; if you listened close enough, you could probably hear the cogwheels turning in his head. Eventually, Toriel's voice filled the silence. "Well, I'm glad everyone is okay."

I dusted off my jacket a bit. "Speak for yourself," I said.

Papyrus stared at Frisk for a few more brief moments before turning to Toriel. "As am I, Toriel. As am I," he said like I didn't say anything. A gentle breeze could be heard from outside (beats me how there's a breeze underground) because of how silent it was, but that didn't last long as Papyrus began to speak. "Now! Onto More Important Matters!" he shouted without warning, making me jump a little. 'From What I've Seen, You Have Been In Every Room... Except One!" He marched his way to the stairs. "No Hangout Session Is Complet Without My Guests Seeing Where The Magic Happens!" He gestured up the stairs. "If You Would Be So Kind As To Follow Me."

Normally, I'd be down to exploring what's left of the house, but at that moment I felt strangely tired. I stared at the staircase for a few moments before walking over and plopping on the couch. "No thanks," I said.

Papyrus's jaw nearly fell off again. I noticed out of the corner of my eye that Sans was giving me a weird stare, only a half-smile across his face. "You sure?" he eventually asked. "He's got this really cool racecar bed and these action figures."

Papyrus popped his jaw back in place. "I Even Have A Pirate Flag!"

I thought for a second, maybe even considering joining them, but the tiredness washing over my eyes quickly told me otherwise. "Yeah, I think I'll stay down here." I tried to hold back a yawn but failed. "I'm really tired all of a sudden."

Papyrus slumped down. "Oh... Okay." He stayed slumped down for a bit before shooting up. "But The Other Human Must Want To See My Room!" he shouted while looking at Frisk.

"Umm..." Frisk said as she glanced between me and Papyrus for a few moments. Her eyes eventually settled on him. "I actually think I'm going to stay down here..." she said with a cringe.

His eyes got wide. "What?! Why?"

I leaned back into the couch as silence filled the room; Frisk stared off in space. "I just want to make sure he won't pass out," she eventually said.

I moved my head in her direction, still leaned into the couch, with a smirk on my face. "Come on! I'm not that tired," I said as I fought my eyes from shutting; maybe I was that tired.

Papyrus began to rub his chin. "That Sounds Like A Valid Excuse..." He did this for a few more moments before continuing. "Okay! I Guess I Can Let You Stay Down Here." He looked over at Toriel. "But You Must Still want To See My Room, Right Toriel?"

Toriel flashed her iconic smile. "Of course, Papyrus! I'd be happy to."

He almost jumped to the moon. "Yes!" He then proceeded to run up the stairs. "Follow Me!" he shouted as he ran into a room with a bunch of police tape on it. Toriel giggled into her hand before following in his footsteps; out of the corner of his eyes, Sans gave me and Frisk weird stares as he followed behind Toriel.

Once the door was shut again, Frisk came over and sat next to me. I looked over at her. "Have you been in his room in a different timeline?" She nodded. "What's it like?"

She looked down to the floor as she began to speak. "It's..." her voice trailed off but quickly came back. "...interesting." She looked back up at me. "You would've liked it." I nodded as I looked up at the ceiling; it had some water damage on it. I saw out of the corner of my vision Frisk look at me before doing the same. Shortly after, only the sound of passing monsters from outside filled my ears; a peaceful silence that I didn't mind sharing with Frisk. Then she spoke up. "So... why'd you actually not go up there?"

I smiled. "I told the truth." I rubbed my eyes. "I'm really tired. A few seconds passed before I looked over at her; I just then noticed that she had started to stare at me as well. "What about you? Why didn't you go up there?"

Unlike what she did with Papyrus, she didn't hesitate to respond. "I wanted to ask you some questions." She paused before continuing. "Like, for instance, what did you actually do outside?"

I raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

"Well, it's obvious you didn't just rest by a tree and gain your breath back; the cuts on your face tell me that." My eyes widened as I brought my fingers up to my face. When I brought them back down, a very small amount of red liquid covered them. _Dammit, Sans!_ I thought. Frisk got a little closer. "So, what'd you do?" she asked a bit more enthusiastically.

I searched my brain for an excuse; I didn't want to panic her by letting her know Gaster wants me dead. "Um... I fell into a bush...?" I said in the most convincing voice I could. She didn't seem to be buying it. I sighed. "You really want to know?"

She got a little closer. "No Duh!"

I sighed once more before looking away from her, cringing as I did. "I had a little... 'encounter' with... Gaster," I said through my teeth.

Her jaw looked like it wanted to fall off. "Wait, what?" She took a moment to recompose herself. "Did he hurt you?"

I nodded. "Yeah. A lot, actually. There was a bone through my chest if you can believe that.

Her eyes were now starting to get wide. "How did that not kill you?"

I thought of a better way to say what I was about to say, but none come to mind. "Oh, it did. I just came back to life."

"What?!" She rubbed her face as she took deep breaths. "So, let me get this straight. You somehow got into Gaster's domain, he killed you, then you came back to life?

I thought for a second. "Yeah, sounds about right."

She looked away from me. "that means you have the same power as I do," she said, more to herself than me.

"Is your power coming back to life when you die?" She turned to be before nodding. "Then yes."

She chuckled. "Guess we have more in common than we thought." I nodded with a smile as I looked away from her and towards the blank TV; something about my reflection on the black screen looked off, but I couldn't for the life of me tell you what it was. A few moments of silence passed before she continued. "Why'd he attack you?"

I shrugged. "Beats me. He told me something about how I'm some sort of 'glitch' and that I was never meant to exist, so that may have something to do with it." Now that I had seen myself talk, I could clearly see what was off with my reflection; my eyes. When I stared into them, it didn't feel like I was looking at myself. They seemed almost emotionless and like they were staring into my soul. I turned back to Frisk. "Hey, Frisk? Do my eyes look off?"

She squinted at my eyes. "Umm... no. Why do you ask?"

I turned back to my reflection; my eyes had seemingly gone back to normal. I no longer felt like my soul itself was being penetrated by my own stare and you could clearly see my emotions in them. I continued to stare at myself. "...No reason." After a while of staring and seeing no change, I gave up. I looked over at Frisk. "So... where are we heading next?" I asked.

She scratched her head before speaking. "Unless things have changed completely, ideally we'll be heading to Waterfall."

"What's it like there?"

She turned away from me and didn't say anything for a moment. "To sum it up quickly: peaceful, quiet," she looked back at me. "and wet."

I smiled. "Can't wait to see it."

Frisk smiled back. She opened her mouth like she was going to talk but before anything came, Papyrus's room's door burst open. I looked up at the door; for whatever reason, Papyrus had decided to kick it open. He came running down the stairs, Toriel and Sans came out and walked in his footsteps shortly after. Papyrus looked down at the both of us. "You Two Really Missed Out! Toriel Said She Loved It!"

Frisk looked up at him, her smile still on her face. "I'm glad she enjoyed it!"

Papyrus's eyes lit up before he crouched down to our height and got close to Frisk's ear. "Did the human fall asleep?" He loudly whispered in her ear; whispering for Papyrus is like talking at a normal volume for everyone else.

"No," Frisk loudly whispered back. "I made sure to keep him awake." Papyrus nodded a few times before standing back up fully.

Once Toriel and Sans reached the bottom, I decided to ask the question that had been nagging me for a while. "So, when are we leaving?" I asked Toriel and Frisk.

I could've been seeing things but I swear I saw Toriel, only slightly, slump down. "Oh, that's right," she said. "I almost forgot that we were trying to get you two out of the underground." She paused for a moment. "Well, whenever you two feel like we should leave, we will."

I looked over at Frisk. "I'm fine with right now," I said. "What about you?"

She didn't say anything for a moment before nodding. "Yeah, so am I.

I turned back to Toriel; she was looking at the both of us. Even though she had a smile across her face, her eyes told a completely different story. "Oh... okay then. I guess we'll leave now."

I stood up the moment she said that; I would be lying if I said I wasn't looking forward to leaving. Don't get me wrong, I had a great time, I just wanted to get out of there after the whole Gaster situation. I looked over at Papyrus. "Well Papyrus, thanks for inviting us." I glanced over at the kitchen. "Sorry about things not going to plan."

Even though Papyrus's smile never actually changed, I think if he were able to, it would have gotten wider. "No Need To Say Sorry, Human! I'm Actually Glad My Kitchen Went Up In Flames!"

Sans chuckled. "Speak for yourself," he quietly said while looking to the side.

Papyrus either chose not to hear him or just flat out didn't hear him. "Now!" He turned to Toriel. "Where Are You And The Humans Going To Next?"

Toriel didn't do anything for a moment before looking at him with a stumped face. "It's actually been such a long time since I've left the Ruins that I don't remember..." she trailed off.

Frisk began coughing into her arm. " _Cough, Cough_... waterfall... _Cough, Cough_ ," she said in between her coughing.

Toriel's eyes got wider. "Oh! That's right!" She looked over at Frisk. "How did you know that, my child?"

She shrugged. "I just saw a map," she lied; I have no idea how she was so good at that.

Toriel squinted at her before turning back to Papyrus. "Anyway; as she said, we will be going to Waterfall next."

Papyrus nearly jumped up. "Waterfall!? I Know That Place Like The Back Of My Hand!" He ran out of the door frame and into the cold streets of Snowdin Town. "Follow Me! I'll Show You Around!" he shouted into the house.

Frisk smiled before shaking her head a few times. "This is going to be interesting," she said as she got up and left the house.

I began to do the same but stopped at the door frame to check on Toriel. Surprisingly, she wasn't following me out the door; she was just standing still next to Sans. "Toriel?" I said. "Are You coming?"

Toriel didn't say anything as she looked to the floor. She was behaving somewhat like Frisk that time I had asked her why she had climbed the mountain; her head in the floor, not giving me even a spec of eye contact, and making me feel bad for even asking. Eventually, though, she spoke up. "Jack," she said. "Can I tell you a secret?'

I shrugged, not entirely sure what to say. "Umm... sure...?"

She finally looked up at me. "I don't want to leave."

That shocked me a little; out of all the things, I would have never expected that. Silence filled the air as I thought of something to say. "Why not?" I asked after a while of silence.

She took a moment to give me an answer. "Everyone here, from Sans and Papyrus to the people walking on the streets; they're all so friendly. There is always a certain amount of joy in the air." She smiled. "And, besides, the weather is perfect for my fur."

I didn't say anything for a moment, taking in everything she had said. I had no problem going through the underground without her, and I didn't think Frisk did either. I shrugged. "I don't mind you staying here."

She smiled. "That's what I thought you'd say." She looked away from me and didn't say anything for a few seconds. "But then there's the issue of who's going to protect you."

Sans looked like he was holding back a laugh. "Oh, believe me, Tori, that kid can more than handle himself," he said, giving Toriel her new nickname. I'm really surprised Sans didn't just end up calling me "J." I certainly wouldn't put it past him.

She looked back at him. "You really think so?'

He shook his head. "I don't just think so, I know so. I saw what he can handle with my own two eye sockets." He glanced over at me and winked before looking back at Toriel.

"But what about Frisk?"

I decided I had enough of Sans covering my ass and spoke up. "Well, she's definitely more stronger than me. And even if she isn't, she has me to help her."

Toriel looked at me for a few seconds before nodding a few times. "Okay. Well, since you're okay with it, I'll stay here."

I nodded as well. "Don't worry, I'll tell Frisk for you." She smiled at me as I walked to the door. I once again stopped at the door frame and looked back at them. "And, Toriel... thanks. I don't think we would have gotten this far so smoothly without you.

She once again flashed her iconic smile. "Of course, Jack. I'll be here anytime you two need me."

I nodded, but before I could turn around, Sans began to speak. "Good luck, Jack," he said, catching me a bit off guard that he used my name.

I looked him dead in the eyes. "You too," I said as I walked out and into the streets.


	9. Confrontation

I took in as much of the cold air as I could; I'd be lying if I said I wasn't going to miss it. Frisk stared at me for a few seconds before glancing behind me. "What's taking Toriel so long?" she asked.

I thought of the best way to put it into words. "She's... not coming

Frisk's eyes widened a little. "What do you mean?"

I sighed, thinking she wasn't fine with her staying. "Toriel wanted to stay and, since I thought you'd be fine with it, I let her." She stared at me for a few seconds before looking down to the floor, silence following. "Look, if you want her to come then-"

She shook her head, making me stop. "No, I don't mind her not coming." She looked up at me. "I just wish you would have asked me instead of assuming," she finished, clear annoyance in her voice.

"Oh..." I was a bit taken aback; Frisk had assumed so much about me that is sounded almost hypocritical to be upset I assumed something about her once. Why did it bother her?

"Wait," Papyrus suddenly shouted, making Frisk jump a little. "Toriel Is Staying In My House?!" I turned to him and nodded. "We Only Have Two Rooms Though!"

I raised an eyebrow. "What about that balcony? It must belong to a room."

He squinted at me. "What Balcony?"

I turned to the house and pointed at the obvious balcony; it's weird that I couldn't see it from the inside. "That one."

Papyrus continued to squint at me until he looked at where I was pointing, his eyes became wide as he did. "Oh! That Balcony!" He looked back down at me. "It's Just There For The Aesthetic! You Can't Actually Acess it."

I gave him a blank stare, then glanced at the balcony, then went back to staring at him. "What the f-"

I couldn't finish my sentence before, in the blink of an eye, Frisk was next to me, her hand over my mouth. She got close to my ear. "Believe me, you do not want to teach him curse words," she whispered in my ear. I nodded and she let go of my mouth, casually standing by my side like nothing just happened. She turned to Papyrus and smiled. "We're ready to go to Waterfall whenever you are!"

"Great!" he shouted. He turned to the right and began to stomp down the path; the one way we hadn't gone yet. "Follow Me, Humans!"

Frisk shook her head, a smile on her face. "Here we go," she said before following in Papyrus's footsteps, literally; his feet were really big.

I was about to do the same when Grace's voice penetrated my mind. "Jack," she said.

I glanced around to make sure no one was there before sighing and looking down at the emerald heart. "What?" I whispered back.

Her tiny reflection looked a tad worried. "I don't have a good feeling about wherever you guys are going, so be careful, okay?

I smiled; I sure did have a lot of people worrying about me. "I'll try." She nodded as I put down my arm and followed after Frisk.

It didn't take long for me to catch up. We were clearly at the edge of town; the trees were denser, the pathway was less used, and we only passed one building on the way. Papyrus said something about it being his shed. The cold air slowly vanished the more we walked. Don't get me wrong, it was cold, just not as cold as I had grown accustomed to. We were walking on a seemingly natural bridge, rivers were on each side of it. Big ice cubs flowed down both of them. Everything was seemingly calm when I heard something behind me. I stopped in my tracks, completing forgetting who I was following, and turned around. I was greeted with the same little girl I had seen so many times before.

Even though her appearance hadn't changed, I felt different around her. Maybe it was because I survived Gaster's attacks, but I wasn't scared anymore; just annoyed. She giggled. That was usually my sign to run, but instead, I firmly planted my feet into the ground. "Look, I don't know what you are or why you chase me," I said. She squinted at me. "But I'm done running."

She continued to squint at me before once again giggling. She took a few steps forward but I still didn't move. Snow began to pour down from the ceiling as my surroundings got more and more hard to see; it was like a blizzard had suddenly started up. I was already cold, but the wind that was getting faster by the minute didn't help at all. Suddenly, a pile of snow came flying off of one of the trees and hit me square in the face. It didn't hurt but the suddenness of it all made me jump back, causing me to lose my balance as I fell into the snow.

I wiped my face off and opened my eyes. The girl had vanished; either that or the snow had gotten so dense that I could no longer see her. The wind had died down but there was just as much, if not more, snow falling around me. Without warning, a cool breath suddenly went down my neck. "And that'll be your mistake," the girl's voice said. Like in my dream, it changed from a range of voices. Some, I recognized, others, I didn't. I spun around as fast as I could; she was nowhere in sight. But... instead of seeing her, I saw the barely visible figure of Papyrus.

I was confused; why was he just standing there, staring at me. If he had stopped to look for me, wouldn't he be walking towards me? And, after quickly glancing around the room, I didn't see Frisk anywhere. She would have also been looking for me. Papyrus seemed to be deep in thought as he looked down at the ground. I could hear footsteps behind me slowly approaching, but I didn't bother to look. Papyrus, on the other hand, glanced up before almost jumping; he gained his "heroic pose" shortly after. "Halt, Human!" he shouted at the thing approaching.

They didn't seem to listen as they continued walking. I was about to turn around when the thing approaching walked through me, almost like I was a ghost. They stopped a few feet in front of me; it was Frisk, although, their clothes had visible layers of dust on them. She gripped a knife tightly in her hand. "Hey!" Papyrus continued. "Quit Moving While I'm Talking To You!" I could have been misreading him, but I swear the tiniest bit of fear sat in his voice.

"I, The Great Papyrus, Have Some Things To Say!" He audibly took a deep breath. "First: You're A Freaking Weirdo!"

A chuckle suddenly came from my right. I looked over there; the little girl was standing there, looking at the entire interaction with joy in her eyes. Her body wasn't "stable;" it would change from Frisk's to her's, growing in height before shrinking once more. "I love this scene," She said. She looked up at me, her crimson eyes piercing my soul. "It always puts a smile on my face."

I shivered; the way she said that just sounded... _off_. I glanced at the interaction in front of me before facing her once more. "What am I looking at?" I asked her.

She chuckled once more. "What your little 'girlfriend' did before you came around."

Was she talking about Frisk? "Wait, girlfrie-"

Despite my wishes, my neck turned back to the event in front of me. "Just watch," the little girl said; it sounded like she was right in my ear.

I had missed a good chunk of what Papyrus had said, but I began to listen once more. Frisk had visibly gotten closer; only a few feet away from him now. Papyrus seemed to take notice. "I See You Are Approaching," he said. "Are You Offering A Hug Of Acceptance?" A small noise I couldn't quite describe came from Frisk. "Wowie! My Lessons Are Already Working!" Papyrus stretched his arms out as Frisk's soul popped out and wrapped around her arm; it had a darker red than normal. "I, Papyrus, Welcome You With Open Arms!"

He got down to Frisk's height as he waited for the hug... it never came. Much to my shock, Frisk took the knife and slashed at his neck. It effortlessly shattered the bone as Papyrus's head came flying off. His body, somehow still under his control, was able to grab it before it hit the ground. "W-well," Papyrus said, much quieter than normal. "That's Not What I Expected..." His body began to turn to ash as his head tumbled down. His feet were the only thing left as he hit the ground, even them disappearing shortly after.

Silence lingered for a few moments as he looked to the ground. He looked up at her. "But... St... Still! I Believe In You!" he shouted with what little energy he had left. "You Can Do Better! Even If You Don't Think So! I..." Frisk got closer. "I Promise..." Frisk looked down at him, her face emotionless. I swear, just on the corner of her eye, a tear sat there.

My jaw was unhinged; how could she... why would she do this? She had made herself out to be such a pacifist, but this... there's no way she would have done that, right? Frisk continued to stare down at him as his head, the only thing left, turned to ash. She dropped her knife as she continued to stare, the blizzard consuming her. I turned back to the little girl; she had a wide smile. "Amazing, isn't it?"

I shook my head; she was crazy. "There's no way this is real..." I pointed out into the snowstorm, anger building up. "Frisk would never do that!" I took deep breaths as my hands relaxed. I looked at the ground. "... right?"

She got close. "You feel that anger building up, don't you?" How'd she known? She wrapped her arm around her shoulder as her free hand did a few motions around my chest. My soul popped out as she cupped my soul; it was still missing a piece. "Don't you just _**HATE** _her?" For only a second, when she said hate, I saw my soul and it's surroundings become pure black.

I was listening, maybe even believing what she was saying, but I felt the sudden urge to push her off of me, and so I did. "No!" I shouted at her; I didn't want to believe it. "You're just... lying..."

She stretched her arms out and smiled. "Maybe," she said. "But before you make up your mind, ask yourself. What reason would I have to lie to you?"

I thought for a second. "You've been... torturing me!" I looked up at her. "You've chased me and haunted my dreams! Now, you're telling me this just so I can hate the one person I trust."

She squinted at me before chuckling. "Okay, obviously, we're going to get nowhere in this conversation. So, instead of listening to me..." she reached her hand out, a knife had appeared in it. "Try asking the person who did it." It was a toy knife, dull-looking in shape. She put it closer to my face. "Give Frisk this knife; she'll know what you're talking about the moment you show it to her."

Hesitantly, I grabbed the knife. I half expected her to just stab me, but she didn't. She smiled as she backed away before vanishing into the blizzard, leaving me alone in the cold.


	10. A Resolution

My vision got more and more clear until, eventually, I could once again see my surroundings. I didn't know what to believe; why would Frisk have done that? There's... no way she did, right? I couldn't finish processing my thoughts before Papyrus's voice penetrated my ears. "Human?" he shouted. I turned to him; he had stopped and was looking back at me, Frisk was doing the same except she had a frown. "Why **_H_** ave You Stopped?" His head laying on the floor was still freshly engraved into my mind.

I tried to force myself to talk, to say anything at all. "I..." But I couldn't, nothing would come out. I stared at him for a few more moments before looking at the knife in my hand. It was still there; everything I experienced actually happened, the fact that my grip was around it proved that fact. A thick layer of dust covered the blade and it almost burned to hold it. How had they not seen it? Did she really... no. She didn't, there was no way she did. That thing was just trying to manipulate me, twist the truth. It had to be. I shoved the knife in my jacket pocket before turning to the two of them. "I was just... thinking."

"Oh! I Do That Too, Sometimes!" he shouted back, clearly not suspicious of what I said. "Although, I Typically Don't Stop In My Tracks To Think." He spun around like nothing was said. "Anyway! Onwards!" he said before stomping off into the distance. I breathed a sigh of relief but then realized that Frisk hadn't done the same. She was slightly... squinting at me; she knew I was lying, there was no other explanation. Despite that, she stared at me for a few more moments before walking after Papyrus. It took me a few seconds but I eventually, hesitant with every step, did the same. I kept my distance from Frisk; it's not that I feared her, I just... I... I don't know. I was by her side through the entire underground, loving every minute of it, and now I was too fearful to even look in her direction. Would I ever feel normal again?

The longer we walked, the more humid the surroundings got. The snow started to vanish, replaced by a blueish rock instead. Plants began to pop up out of cracks and huge crystals hanging off the ceiling acted as lights; for whatever reason, they had a bright glow to them. The river got bigger and bigger until it eventually formed a marsh-like environment. The natural bridge we were on was quite a distance from said marsh, but the song of the bugs could still be heard, echoing through the catacombs. We were making quite some distance when Papyrus suddenly stopped. Didn't he just say he doesn't stop in his tracks to think? After waiting for a few moments with no movement from him, Frisk poked her head out in front of him. "Papyrus?" she asked. "Is something wrong?"

He looked back at us. Despite his lack of skin, sweat covered his forehead and, quite literally, he was rattling in his boots. "I-I Just Remembered Something..." he said, quieter than I was used to. He suddenly bolted towards the way we came; there was no way we could catch up with him, even if we wanted to. "I Have To Go!" Unlike every other time he had run away from us, there was no "Nyeh heh heh!" following him.

I reached out as if I could grab him; he was too far away for me to be anywhere close. "Papyrus! Wait..." he was already gone by the time I finished. I felt dread hit me like a truck. I was stuck with Frisk while I was still trying to push out the thoughts that thing gave me.

"Well," Frisk said. "That didn't last long." She rubbed her chin as she looked to the floor. "Although, he does have to talk to Undyne." Normally, I'd ask who Undyne was... I wasn't acting normal then; I was still looking out at where Papyrus had ran off to, almost like, if I stared long enough, he would come running back. I eventually looked away and sighed before walking past Frisk; my eyes refused to go anywhere near her direction. "Oh, okay then," she said, a bit of surprise in her voice. I heard her footsteps follow behind me. "I guess we're going to act like that didn't happen."

We walked, and we walked, and we walked, all the while not saying a word to each other. I wasn't used to that. We'd always fill the quiet moments with small talk, but, if I'm being honest, I was the reason we weren't talking. Every once and a while, Frisk would try to come up next to me, but I'd speed up my pace so she couldn't. I don't know why I did, I knew for a fact Frisk wouldn't hurt me... but why was I so confident in that? At the time, we only knew each other for three days at the most, and yet, I felt like I knew her better than anyone. I cared for her almost as much as Comet, the person I had known for years and years. Why-

"Jack?" Frisk's voice came from my side, dragging me out of my thoughts. I looked over at her, she was indeed next to me, a small grin on her face. "What are you thinking about?" I began to pick up my pace; my mind still wasn't ready to talk to her. A sudden tug on my arm made me jump. "Ah, I don't think so!" She pulled me back to where I started. "I'm not going to let you run away from me anymore." I turned to her with wide eyes, was it really that obvious? She seemed to notice the shock on my face "What? Did you think I just wouldn't notice you running away anytime I came close?"

"I..." Why couldn't I say anything? I was trying so hard and yet, nothing would come out.

She got a little closer. "You...?" she asked like I had the secret meaning of life.

I looked away from her and sighed before stopping in my tracks. "I..." Why was I struggling so much? I sighed as I looked to the floor. "I don't know."

I walked over to the edge of the natural bridge and looked out over the marsh; it was kinda crazy how much it resembled the surface, despite the fact that there were glowing mushrooms sticking out of the water. The bug's song filled my ears as Frisk slowly approached behind me. She stopped right next to me, taking in the marsh as well. A silence filled the air between us, one I was quite aware of. Frisk didn't seem to be focusing on the view; it looked more like she was staring at her feet despite the fact that her eyes were straight forward. "Whatever you're scared to tell me about..." She looked over at me, I didn't do the same. "Just know, it won't change anything between us."

Those words comforted me; maybe I was just scared that if I told her, I'd lose her as a friend. Maybe I was scared to hear the truth. Maybe... I sighed as I looked to the ground. "It isn't that simple."

I was suddenly forced to turn to Frisk; she had put her hands on my shoulders and made me look at her. "Well, tell me then!" she said, her voice louder than I was used to. She never took her hands off my shoulders. Her eyes stared into mine. "I'm sure that, whatever it is, we can get through it." Her kind eyes told me I was safe, but my brain tried to say otherwise. My brain wanted to get as far away from her as possible, but my soul liked how close we were. I started to listen to my brain. _Maybe I should_ \- "Please," Frisk's voice dragged me out of my thoughts. "Let me help you!"

As she finished, I felt that feeling I had felt when I touched those stars. It made my heart beat faster and gave me the courage to shut my brain down. My thoughts became clear; I didn't realize how much I missed that. I took a deep breath, knowing I could trust her, and pulled out the knife from my pocket. "Here," I said, handing it to her.

Her eyes went wide as she slowly reached for it. She took a few steps back and examined it, her hands shaking in the process. Her legs wobbled before she fell onto her knees. "W-where did you..." she looked up at me. "...get this?"

There was no easy way to explain that. She continued to stare at the knife as I tried my best to put everything into words. I sighed. "That... _thing_ I told you about gave it to me. On our way here, it stopped and... talked to me. It showed me a previous timeline where you had... you had..." I didn't want to say the next part, but I forced myself through it. "...killed Papyrus. Then it gave me the knife and I was sent back to the real world." Silence filled the hallway as I finished. Frisk was still staring at the knife, her eyes as wide as ever; it looked like the knife was almost glowing. I inhaled as much air as I could. "Did you... did you really do that?" She didn't respond as she still stared at the knife. "Did you really kill Papyrus?"

Silence filled the air for seconds, but it felt more like hours. She took a deep breath. "I did," she plainly said. She looked up at me, tears that were so close to falling out sat in her eye. "But they didn't tell you everything."

Anger was my first reaction, but I knew that wasn't going to do any good for me besides destroying a friendship. I squatted down to her level; I had to keep an open mind. "What do you mean?"

Her eyes turned to the floor as she shook her head slightly. She eventually looked back up while taking a deep breath. "When I did that, I hadn't been in the underground for long; I had gone through it twice at the most, both of which ended in my death." She looked to the side. "I didn't understand things then, and I couldn't control my curiosity. So, the next time I fell into the underground, I let it dictate my path." She shook her head again. "I killed everyone in the Ruins. It didn't feel good, but I continued... until I got to Toriel. She had been so loving and caring, she even provided me a home despite the fact that she knew what I was doing, and I was just supposed to kill her in cold blood." Her breathing began to get shakey. "I couldn't... I wouldn't... but I didn't have a choice."

She looked me in the eyes. "Something overtook me; it wasn't a person or thing, no, it was a feeling. It was hatred." She looked back down at the knife. "It had embodied itself through the hate I felt for myself, taking control when it was at it's strongest. It made me strike her down. And it continued, killing anything and everything that I could stand a chance against. Then I reached Papyrus." The tears that were hanging on by a thread had come out, splattering on the ground below. She rested the knife by her side. "He said such nice words and made me feel even more terrible than I already did. Seeing his head vanish into air gave me enough strength to take back control, and I restarted from the beginning."

I w ** _a_** s speechless and didn't know what to think; she did it, but not by choice. Does that still make her responsible? She looked up at me before quickly glancing back down and let out a hollow chuckle. "You probably hate me now."

I looked down at her; maybe part of me wanted to hate her, but I couldn't, even if I tried. I had made up my mind. I took the knife out of her hand, her grip was looser than I was expecting. She looked at me with wide eyes as I stood up; unlike last time I had held it, it physically hurt to hold, but it didn't stop me. I turned to the marsh and threw it as far as I could, making sure it was out of view. You couldn't even hear it splash in the water because of how hard I threw it. I continued to look out at the marsh as I began to speak. "Maybe you did start it..." I turned to her. Her were now wide and her arms hung loosely by her sides. "...but the fact that you wanted to stop proves to me that you care about them." I looked to the side. "Hell, the fact that you're standing here right now, not a kill to your name, tells me you care about them." I looked back at her. "So, I forgive you."

I could see the joy behind her eyes. "Do you... r-really mean that?" she said with a shaky voice. I couldn't even finish nodding before her arms were around me, sending me back a little. I returned the hug with a smile as I felt my shoulder get wet. It felt nice to hold someone close after everything that just happened. She was holding on to me so tight almost as if, at any moment, I would vanish; I must have really scared her. The hug was lasting longer than all our other ones, but I didn't mind; judging by the sobs coming from her, she really needed it.

Eventually, after at least a few minutes, she let go. She looked at me with a smirk, her face soaked in her own tears. "T-thanks," she said as she whipped a bt of the tears away.

I smiled back. "For what?"

"For letting me hug you so long, dummy!" Her happy mood was coming back, and I couldn't have been more glad to see it.

I acted like I just discovered the secrets of the universe. "Oooooh!" Judging by how it made Frisk chuckle, my mission was successful. I grinned before putting on my sincere face. "Seriously, it was no problem." She stared back at me with a grin. And we just sat there, staring; I don't even think we realized. I eventually did though and shook my head. "So, where to next, navigator?"

She turned to the way we were heading before. "This Way!" She shouted before running down the natural bridge. "Chaaarge!" She screamed. I chuckled before running after her, joining in on her screaming. If I learned one thing from that experience, it was to not believe a word that came out of that _thing's_ mouth. I made a promise, no, I swore to myself to try and keep this moment in the past; I didn't want to talk about it any more than Frisk did.

* * *

We ran for a bit but it didn't take long for us to get tired and stop. Then we just talked, about everything and anything; it was relieving after everything that had happened. I didn't notice at first, but whenever we stopped talking for a bit, Frisk would look at me with a small smile. If I ever stared back, she'd either glance away or smile before looking forward. It confused me, but I didn't mind. After a while of talking, we finally reached something. It' looked just like one of the stations you'd see in Snowdin, snow on the roof and everything. Sans sat behind it, seemingly sleeping; one of those stars was next to him, shining just as bright as all the other ones. It had felt like an eternity since I last saw one of those. I didn't notice it at first, but when we got closer, a door that didn't look like any other one I had seen sat right behind Sans.

We continued walking until we got in front of him; he wasn't sleeping, his white pupils glowing in their sockets told me that. He just had his head down. Frisk seemed to not be aware of this as she wandered around near him, paying the skeleton no mind. He sat up. "Heya," he said as Frisk jumped a few feet back, screaming along the way. She ended up losing her balance and fell on her butt. Sans smirked as he looked down at her. "I didn't know someone was scared so easily."

Frisk sighed before staring up at the skeleton with agitated eyes. "You can't just-!" She stood up and dusted herself off, calming down a bit. "-do that!"

He nodded a few times as Frisk wiped herself off; in the meantime, I decided to approach the skeleton. I would be lying if I said I wasn't a bit surprised to see him. "How'd you beat us here?" I asked.

He leaned back and knocked on the door. Judging by the sound it made, it was made of wood. "I took a shortcut."

I squinted at it; the designs and colors were just so unique compared to everything else. I eventually shrugged it off. "Must have been one fast shortcut." Frisk had gone over and touched the star; seeing her hand be swallowed from a distance was interesting. "So, why are you here?"

He gave me a confused look. "I'm a sentry, kid. Don't you remember?"

I made it obvious I didn't know what he was talking about. "You... never told me that."

He raised an "eyebrow." "Really?" When I nodded, he sighed before putting his head into one of his hands. " _... i'm starting to confuse timelines now..._ " he mumbled so quite that I was just barely able to hear him.

That certainly didn't solve any questions; in fact, it made more. I felt my face scrunch up. "What?"

He sat back up quickly. "Nothin'." This made me even more confused. Clearly, Sans didn't care, seeing as he continued. "Anyway, me being a sentry basically means that I watch out for humans like yourself. I'm supposed to do something like capture you, I think, but unlike every other monster down here, the surface isn't the biggest deal to me."

I was a tad confused; it sounded like he was just rambling to me. "How does the surface have anything to do with your job?"

His eyes grew a little wide. "You don't know?" Seeing as I had no idea what he was even talking about, I nodded. He chuckled. "You must be confused then." His eyes looked to the side for a moment before looking back at me as he leaned on his sentry station. "To cut a long story short, humans thousands of years ago used a spell to seal monsters underground." That phrase sounded familiar to me. "To break said spell, we gotta have seven human souls. We got six at the current moment."

Man, if only he told me that sooner. "Oh!" I thought over what he said, something just didn't sound right to me. "So wait, if I'm getting this right, you're keeping your entire species traped down in this prison simply because you're too lazy to kill one of us?"

He contemplated what I said for a few moments before nodding. "Yeah, pretty much."

"How have you not been fired yet?"

His smirk became a bit wider on one side. "Luckily for me, you two are the first humans to fall down since I got my gig, so I haven't really been monitored at all."

Frisk looked to the side as she walked over to us. "Yeah, yeah, that's great and all." It was like she hadn't paid attention to anything we were talking about. She stopped next to me and rested on Sans's station. "Hey, Sans? I'm pretty hungry right now." As she finished, I heard her stomach rumble; I never once heard a person's stomach rumble be as audible as hers just was.

A very small chuckle came from his mouth as he squinted at Frisk. "Sorry kid," He leaned back. "I just used my last regularly scheduled break for the day."

Frisk's eyes widened a bit. "Really?" He nodded. "Huh," she looked away from him. "Wasn't expecting that."

"Although..." Sans reached down and pulled up both of our bookbags; I completely forgot about them! "Toriel did send these book bags you guys left behind, packed with fresh sandwiches." He dangled Frisk's book bag in his hand as he looked to the ceiling. "They are pure energy though, so they may not fill-"

Sans couldn't finish before Frisk had snatched her bookbag out of his hand. "Gimme!" She almost tore the bag open and dug into it before pulling out a sandwich shortly after. Her stomach rumbled once more before she shoved the food in her mouth. I was almost scared at first, but slowly beat it away once I realized the situation; it had been almost two days since we had eaten anything. I was more surprised that I wasn't acting like her.

Sans chuckled once more. "Wow," he leaned against his station. "Guess you don't care." The sandwich was gone by the time he finished. His white dots for pupils looked over at me. "You hungry too?"

I shrugged. "I mean, I guess just a little bit." That was a lie; my stomach was growling quite possibly louder than Frisk's.

He reached down and brought my bookbag onto his station. "Well then." He dug into it before pulling out a sandwich, there was quite a lot of meat on it. His smile got wider. "Let's get to the _meat_ of the situation."

A sigh couldn't help but leave my mouth; that pun was the worst yet! I didn't let it get to me as I grabbed the food. It looked like your ordinary sandwich. "Why do you tell so many puns?"

He shrugged. "I dunno." His smile got wider once again. "I guess I just like to go against the _grain_ ," he finished with a wink.

I rolled my eyes; his puns were starting to lose their novelty. Still though, he was enjoyable to be around. I shook my head. "Maybe try saying less of them." I looked down at the sandwich before taking a chuck out of it. The taste I expected filled my mouth, but the texture was all off. It felt so light and had next to no weight. There was no resistance as my teeth went through it, almost like I was chewing air. After trying to figure out what exactly was going on, I swallowed it. I instantly felt more energized, like I had drunk a cup of coffee. I examined the sandwich like it was an ancient text before returning my gaze onto Sans. "Cause they're starting to get annoying," I said, finishing my sentence.

Sans slightly nodded his head. "I'll keep that in mind." For a reason I couldn't tell you, Frisk had gone back over and touched the blob. I tried my best to ignore it as I took another bite. The same texture filled my mouth as I swallowed it, feeling my eyes get a little less heavy; at that rate, I wouldn't need to sleep. It didn't feel like it ever reached my grumbling stomach. Sans rested his head into his hands. "So, when are you guys heading-"

Sans was interrupted by a sharp yelp coming from down the path. He turned to the it with a raised eyebrow, me and Frisk did the same shortly after. There was nothing at first, but then another yelp echoed through the cave, this time the voice clearly shouted: "Help!" I couldn't even blink before Frisk had started to bolt down the path; maybe it's someone she met in a different timeline?

Much to my surprise, Sans stood up from his chair and began following after Frisk. He looked back at me. "Well? You coming, kid?"

I sighed as I looked at my sandwich; I hadn't even eaten half of it yet. Clearly, though, someone needed help. I took one last look at it before throwing it on the floor and running after Frisk. She had ran so fast that she was already at the person. They laid on the floor with tears in their eyes; their skin was a bright yellow and it almost looked like they were wearing a striped shirt, but I couldn't decide if that just was a part of their body. They lacked arms, which didn't make the situation they were in any better. It looked like they were a male, but it was hard to tell.

Two monsters loomed above them. One wore a leather jacket and had incredibly buff muscles with slicked-back hair, while the other was about half the height and lacked all the meat. They still had the leather jacket, taller one was a greenish color, while the shorter one was more of a blue. By the time I was at Frisk's side, she had already started talking to the two of them. "So what you're saying is that we don't have to hurt this pip-squeak of a man?" the tall one asked; he had the classic voice every bully had in those 90's movies, new-yorker accent and all.

Frisk's eyes got a bit wide. "Well, yeah actually. That's exactly what I'm saying. I'm surprised you understood so easily." She sounded slightly out of breath, probably because of how fast she ran.

The tall one smiled before pointing at her, laughing as he did. " _Get'a load of her_!" The little one began laughing as they both looked at each other. "She thinks she can tell us what to do!"

They continued laughing, almost hysterically. Frisk just gave them a confused stare. Eventually, the little one halted his laughter as he gave her a death stare. "We should do somethin' about her." His voice didn't sound good; it kinda sounded like he was a goblin.

The tall one stared at him for a few moments before shaking his head. "Yeah, yeah, you're right." He faced Frisk before taking a step forward. Frisk didn't react. "We can't just have this little brat running about the place, thinking she can tell people what to do." He pulled out a weapon similar to a knife from his pocket. "We gotta teach her about respect."

I was astonished; did they not realize I was right next to her? I took a step forward in an attempt to make my presence known. "Are you guys on crack or something? How does her telling you to stop picking on that kid mean she doesn't know respect?"

The little one looked at me with a devilish smirk. "Looks like we got another one." He pulled out a weapon of his own.

The tall one nodded. "It's a slash one, get one free discount."

Frisk sighed before tapping her foot; she clearly wasn't threatened. "Could we just start the fight already?" she asked. "Me and him got a fish warrior to see."

I faced her. "Wait, we're seriously doing this?" My soul popping out in front of me before latching onto my arm was the only answer I needed. I tried to get in a battle stance; it had been quite some time since we had entered a fight. "I guess we're doing this." Frisk's soul popped out shortly after.

At first, they just stood there, looking at each other before turning back to us. After a few moments, though, they charged at us. The little one was heading for me while the taller one ran at Frisk. We both moved out of the way with ease because of how slow they ran. Turns out that leather jackets weren't the best for attacking. The little one spun around and tried to climb on me, but I threw it up into the air. Just as the short one was about to hit the floor, the buff one's fist came swinging at Frisk, but she was able to dodge it. The buff one punched the little one in the face, sending him flying back. "Yeah!" the tall one shouted, his eyes clenched shut. "We got her-" He stopped as he opened his eyes.

I walked past him and joined Frisk's side; it looked like he was in shock. Frisk smirked before crossing her arms. "You guys are dumber than Dumb and Dumber." That statement couldn't be more true.

The buff one still looked out at his friend with wide eyes. He must have packed quite punch because the little one was out cold. "You made me... hurt my friend..." He said under his breath. His breathing sped up as he looked down at his clenched hands. "You made me hurt my friend..."

Frisk stepped away from him. "Umm, Jack?" I looked over at her. "I'd step out of the way-"

She couldn't finish before screaming came from in front of me. I snapped my head towards it; the buff one was in the middle of jumping towards me, his knife-like weapon firmly in his hands, swinging down at me. "YOU MADE ME HURT MY FRIEND!" I put my arms up in an attempt to shield my face, probably not the best idea looking back on it, and clenched my eyes shut.

Instead of the pain I expected, nothing. Just the sound of something shattering. After a few moments of nothing, I opened my eyes hoping I was safe. The green shield was in my face, the buff guy below me clenching his hand, his weapon in ruins on the floor. I had completely forgotten I had a shield made of magic. Frisk looked at me with wide eyes. "Since when did you have a fucking shield!" she she almost shouted.

I tried my best to smile, but it probably looked a little weird. "Surprise...?"


	11. Monster Kid

Frisk squinted at the shield for a few moments, a frown slowly forming on her face; it looked like she was in some sort of trance. During her staring contest with the shield, I noticed the little blue guy had vanished from his spot on the floor. I hoped for the best, wanting to think he just ran away. Eventually, Frisk blinked a few times before shaking her head. Her face returned to a neutral one. "I'll ask later; we should probably focus on the fight right-" She couldn't finish before her hair was yanked back; much to my dismay, the short one had come back, a fire filled his eyes that was lacking before. He had jumped onto her shoulders and pulled at her ponytail.

A yelp of pain came out of her mouth as she fell backward. A loud thud filled the air as she hit the floor. The little one climbed onto her chest, covered her mouth, then he looked back at the tall one. "Got her, Boss." He looked back at her before pushing his hand down, making Frisk yelp once more, a smile across his face. Was he crushing her teeth? "She ain't goin' anywhere."

I felt a sudden jolt of panic as my body almost forced me to start running; my shield had gained spikes around it's edge. I guess Grace wanted me to hurt him, and I don't blame her. I did too. Maybe if I hadn't reacted the way I did, the outcome would have been much different. I didn't get far before a yank at my leg caused me to fall onto the ground. My shield vanished the moment I hit the ground. At first, I thought it was the tall one, but once I saw him rushing over, I realized that wasn't the case. He was at my side before I could get up. He dug his foot into my back, causing pain to rush through my body. I grunted. "Now where do you think you're goin'?" He asked. His voice had become a lot more... sinister than I remembered.

I began to squirm around, Frisk did the same. The little one had that same twisted smile on his face. Thankfully, it quickly changed to a frown once Frisk's teeth slammed down on his fingers. He quickly brought his hand up, giving her a chance to speak. "Get Off Of Me!" she yelled. I tried squirming around more but it didn't do much; there was too much weight holding me down. Focusing as hard as I could, I tried to force my shield back out; maybe I could slam it into the guy's leg. I tried and tried, but... it refused to come out. Was Grace scared?

The little one looked at his hand before his eyebrows furrowed. "You little bitch!" He shouted as his fist when right into her face. Her face looked... shocked as a little bit of blood leaked from her nose.

"Frisk!" I shouted as I tried to push myself up. My attempt failed as I heard _his_ fist make contact with her face once again. Why... why was I so weak? The tall one dug his foot into me even more, causing a yelp from me. The fleshy sound of another punch echoed through my ears as I once again tried to push myself off the ground. I was able to take on Gaster, so why couldn't I just get up?

He turned me around with his other foot before sending it into my side; it hurt a whole lot more. The sudden shock of it made it hard for me to think straight. "You think you can just mess with us with no consequence?!" He yelled. Another punch. He stomped on my stomach, knocking the air out of me, before kicking my side once again. I felt frozen, like I couldn't do anything even if I wanted to. The pain he was giving me sent shivers throughout my whole body. "Treat us like fools without being punished?!" Another punch as two more kicks went into me. I was forced to watch as my only true friend in the Underground, the person I had grown so close to in only a few days, was beaten to a bloody pulp. I couldn't... no, I _wouldn't_ let it happen. My ear began to ring; something was... happening to me. I could feel it... in my soul. It ached. It hurt more than any pain the moron kicking me could give.

He continued shouting, kicking too, but the ringing in my ears made it so I could barely understand him. My surroundings became almost like a blur but, I could still hear every time Frisk was punched. The kicking began to feel numb; what was happening to me? My heartbeat echoed through my ears, getting louder and more fierce by the second, as something swelled up inside of me. It felt like rage, but... it wasn't. It was something far stronger. It filled my mind with thoughts. Thoughts I'd never think. I could almost see myself taking the shards of the moron's knife and stabbing him with it multiple times, until he was begging for mercy. The scary thing was... I wanted to. I wanted to so bad. My brain lit up with excitement at the sheer thought of it. I would have never thought like this; I wasn't my self. The more I concentrated on the thoughts, the more I heard little whispers, telling me to do it. The sane part of my brain reasoned otherwise, but every time I heard another punch, that part of me got a little quieter. **_Maybe we should_** \- Punch. _We don't have to hurt_ \- Punch. ... _we... can..._ _-_ **Punch**.

My breathing became heavier as my surroundings returned, but I didn't feel like I was in control. The tall one kicked me again... I felt nothing more than a little pressure. My eyes burned, but whatever had taken over didn't care; I almost felt like I was watching a movie, like I had taken a back seat and let someone else drive my body. I reached over to the ruins of the buff one's weapon and grabbed the blade. Without a second of hesitation, I jabbed it into his leg. There was no blood as he went to the floor, screaming along the way. I pushed myself off the floor without effort, almost like I hadn't been kicked a thousand times. My chest ached. it ached so bad that I felt like I would collapse... _It_ didn't care. I walked over to the buff one; he was cradling his leg and trying to slowly pull out the blade. I looked at him before chuckling, then I began to kick him repeatedly, a smile across my face.

I screamed at myself, trying in a desperate attempt to stop, but it never happened. "Boss...?" The little one said as I continued to kick him; he had finally stopped punching. It took a few more kicks before I looked over at him. He was terrified. I didn't want to, but I slowly started approaching. He backed off Fisk and continued backing off before he hit a wall. He looked up at me with terror, making whatever was controlling me smile even more. When I finally stood in front of him, he was shaking. I looked down at him, a chuckle coming from my mouth, before I picked him up by the throat and slammed him against the wall. Begging started to come out of his mouth, but _it_ didn't care. My fist went right into his face. I waited a few more seconds before doing it again... and again... and again. Punch after punch after punch. _It_ had no intentions on stopping, but then I felt a shake come from my side.

I looked over; Frisk's face greeted my eyes. Despite all the punching she had gone through, she only had a bloody nose and bruised eye. She held onto my shoulder as she looked into my eyes. "Please, Jack..." Her voice was quiet, but also calming. "Don't... hurt them anymore." My hand twitched as _it_ tried to land another punch, but she wrapped her arms around me before it ever came. "Please..."

That was enough to send the feeling flooding through my body all the way to the back of my mind. I took a deep breath before grabbing my head, dropping the little one in the process. My brain felt like it was going to explode. Frisk never let go as I felt pain all throughout my body. Blood leaked from my nose as I gripped my head tighter. Eventually, the pain started to die down; it was still very much there, but not nearly as bad as when it had started. I took deep breaths, then, feeling like it would help, I wrapped my arms around Frisk. For some reason, tears began to leak out of my eyes, only causing me to hold her tighter. She never let go as my body began to shake in her arms.

I don't know how long we hugged, but I do know that it was long enough for a voice to fill my ears that I was hoping to hear the entire time. "Well..." Sans's voice came from behind me. I slowly let go, Frisk's shoulder had a wet stain where my head once was. I held back a chuckle, how many times had she done to me? I turned around. The two bullies stood at Sans's feet, both very conscious. "Unless my eyesockets deceived me, you two grown adults just beat up a bunch of kids." Both of the morons had anger in their eyes while Sans's eyes lacked any emotion at all.

"Yeah!" The buff one shouted. He stood up and puffed out his chest; the knife was still in his leg and he held onto his side tightly, but he acted like he wasn't in pain. He looked down at Sans. "What's a short little skeleton gonna do about it?"

Sans looked up at him, not an ounce of fear in his eyes. "Let me put this very simple for you..." He closed his eyes and snapped his fingers; I don't know how bone did that, but then again, the skeleton brothers had done a lot of things I never thought bone could do. The buff one was suddenly flung against the nearest wall, a blue glow surrounding him. Sans walked up in front of him, but he never opened his eyes. "If you or your little buddy over there ever dare touch another soul, it doesn't matter how far you go or how fast you are. I will be there." He opened his eyes, his pupils were gone, filled with a black nothingness. " **And you don't want me to be your judge.** " His pupils returned as the blue glow left the buff guy. He fell onto the floor as Sans looked down at him. "Capiche?" He nodded very fast. Sans's smirk got a little wider. "Good." He stepped out of the way, his pupils disappearing once more. " **Now scram**."

The buff guy jolted up, ran to the short guy, tossed him on his shoulders, and bolted off into the distance. His adrenaline must have overcome his pain. Once they were completely out of view, San's pupils returned as he sighed. He turned around to face us, his eyes got a little wide when he saw us and his smile nearly became a frown... nearly. "Wow, they really gave you guys a beating."

Frisk nodded. "Yeah," she said. Her voice was still quite. She wiped the blood from her nose onto her hand. "But I've been through worse." I picked at my own blood on my nose; why did it start bleeding?

Sans half-smiled. "Oh, believe me, I know you have." _What's that supposed to mean_? He walked in front of her and stuck his hand in her face; a green glow began to surround his hand. Frisk nearly swatted away it, but Sans stuck up his index finger on his free hand and wiggled it around. "Uh-uh." He slowly put her hand down. "We don't want you walking around with a bunch of blood on your face now, do we?"

As I stared at Frisk being healed, everything I had just done hit me like a truck. Guilt filled my body; what happened? How did I... why did I do that? I looked down at my hands, they shook ever so slightly. What caused me to lose control? What took over? A loud sound coming from in front of me caused me to look up; a black cloud was right behind Sans. It swirled around kinda like a tornado. The cloud started to dissipate before eventually disappearing entirely, leaving behind the thing that had been haunting me. They looked up at me with a smile. Their body was still flickering like all the other times I had seen it, but it was no longer changing into Frisk. They were changing into me. They slowly began walking towards me. "It was hate," it said; their voice came from all directions and overpowered any sound. It had a hint of my voice, but mostly sounded like the little girl it pretended to be in my nightmare.

I instinctively took a few steps back; there was no way I was dealing with that thing right then. It chuckled. "Oh, there's no point in running!" It's voice was almost... cheery. It stuck out it's right hand. A few seconds passed before a red light built up on top of it. The light went out with an explosive bang, similar to a supernova, leaving behind my soul. It was dimmer than normal, probably from the fight, but something else shocked me. The chunk missing... it had gotten larger. The thing smiled even more. "I'm stuck with you, whether you like it or not."

I looked over at Sans and Frisk. They hadn't even reacted. The thing looked over at them. "Oh? You're worried about them?" They went back to staring at me. "Don't worry." It smiled a smile that sent shivers down my spine. "Only you can see me."

Sans's pupils looked over at me for a moment; I must have had a shocked face because he instantly stopped his healing. He faced me. "You okay kid?" He asked with a raised 'eyebrow'. "Looks like you've seen a ghost."

I had to tell him. "I..."

The thing disappeared before I felt a hand on my shoulder, causing me to jump slightly. "Are you sure you want to do that, Jack?" It somehow knew what I was going to do. I glanced over at it. It was so close to my face. "He'll think you're a nutcase."

As much as I hated to admit it, I knew they were right. Frisk, on the other hand, knew what it was. Maybe she had a way to get rid of it. I made a mental note to tell her later before focusing back on reality. I tried my best to smile, ignoring the literal demon on my shoulder. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just thought I saw someone." I wish I had the ability to tell lies as good as Frisk's.

He gave me a suspicious stare. "That usually not the stare you give someone when you see them..." He stared at me for a few more seconds as I tried to keep the smile. He eventually gave up whatever he was trying to do and shrugged. "... but alright." He turned back to Frisk; the blood that had once covered her face was now gone. "Well kid, how ya feeling?" The demon was still there, but they were silent. Just watching everything unfold. It was... unnerving to say the least.

Frisk felt her nose. "I think I'm good." Her voice had returned to a normal volume. Without warning, she did a cartwheel; I... had no idea she was into gymnastics. Sans gave her a weird stare as she stopped next to me. "Yep!" she dusted off her hands. "I'm definitely good!"

Sans raised an eyebrow at her. "Alright...?" He turned to me. "What about you, kid?" I wonder why he was avoiding using our names; he's made it obvious that he somehow knew them. "You need some healing?"

Despite the fact that my side was probably bruised to hell, I felt mostly fine. Still though, I thought it was best to heal them. "Yeah, I think-"

A sudden push from behind made me fall down. I quickly stood up, there was no way in hell I was going to be on the floor again. I focused on my shield to come out and, this time, it actually did. I spun around in a battle stance, thinking that the bullies had come back. Once I saw what had pushed me, I quickly relaxed. The kid that the two guys were bullying had ran into me. They were in the process of falling down. He was falling quite slow, though, so I had plenty of time to save him Seeing as he had no arms, I grabbed on to what I assumed was their sweater and pulled them up; at least I had solved the mystery of whether it was part of his body or not. They almost lost their balance again once they got on their two feet, but I held onto them until it looked like they wouldn't collapse on the spot. Eventually, they looked up at me with a wide grin. "Thanks, dude!" Judging by their voice, they were definitely a male.

I raised an eyebrow at them. He kinda resembled a dinosaur but with no scales and was about the same height as me. He almost looked like my age, but it was hard to tell since, you know, he was a different species and all. "Umm... you're welcome?" I'm surprised he didn't say sorry for running into me.

He stared at me for a few moments with the same expression before his eyes lit up. "Yo, wait. You're the dude who just beat up those bullies, right?"

"Yeah." I scratched my neck. "I guess I am." I felt an ounce of shame enter me as I said that.

He started jumping up and down. "You're a legend, dude!" he nearly shouted. If he had hands, I imagined that they would be clenched from the amount of excitement he was showing. "I bet if Undyne saw you, she'd give you a medal or something!"

That was a name I didn't recognize. "Undyne?"

He stopped jumping and raised his eyebrow. "Yeah, Undyne. She's the captain of the Royal guard. Everyone knows her!" He looked up to the ceiling. "She's so cool." I gave him a confused stare as silence filled the room. He eventually shook his head before looking back at me. "Anyway, I'm Monster Kid. Thanks for saving my butt back there."

 _Monster Kid_ _? That's like a human naming their child Man Baby_. I lightly shook my head before coming back to reality, "I'm Jack..." I pointed next to my side at Frisk. She had apparently been listening because she waved at Monster Kid. "And that's Frisk. You should be thanking her because I would have never come over here if she hadn't."

His eyes got wide. "Oh!" He slightly turned to her. "Thanks, Frisk!" She just smiled at him as he straightened his posture once more. "Anyway, you two are kids, right?"

"I mean," I stared down at the floor, trying to solve the question. "I'm sixteen so I'm considered a teen, and I'm pretty sure she's sixteen too, but I guess technically we're still kids," I looked back up at him. "So yeah, I guess we are."

His eyes lit up. "You're sixteen too?!" _I guess he is the same age_. "That's so cool! I'm the same age as the bully destroyer!" That was a nickname I never thought I'd hear. He raised an eyebrow. "But wait, if you're a kid, why aren't you wearing a striped shirt?"

I squinted my eyes at him; what kinda question was that. "Because I have style?" I quickly realized he was wearing a striped sweater. "Oh, no offense."

He gave me a confused look before gaining a mischievous smile. "Ah, you're rebellious too!" He joined my side and looked out where I was looking; I imagined that if he had arms, one of them would be resting on my shoulder. "Breaking the dress code like I am!"

What was he even on about? I glanced over at him. "I mean, sure... I guess, but aren't you wearing a striped sweater?"

He looked me in the eyes, his smile returning back to a friendly one. "Yeah!"

"How is that breaking the-" I made air quotes. "dress code?"

"Well, it's not a shirt." This guy was confusing me more than Papyrus ever did. His eyes suddenly got wide as he left my side. "Anyway, I'm going to see Undyne." He began running off in a random direction. "See you soon, dudes!"

I stared at him, confusion all over my face, as he left my view. I stared out for a little bit longer before turning around. "He's... strange."

"Yep," Sans said. He shrugged. "But that's MK for ya." He turned around. "I've been away from my station for too long, so see you two in a bit." He walked for a bit before stopping and looking back at us. "Oh, and make sure he doesn't die. His parents told me to not let him wander around, but, you know..." He half-smiled. "I don't care enough to stop him."

 _Aka he's too lazy_. I sighed, but then my eyes lit up with realization. I took a few steps forward. "What about our bookbags?"

He raised up his hand and snapped. "Look behind you."

Following his instructions, I spun around. There they were, exactly how we left them. I turned back around. "Thanks-" He was already gone. I scratched my head. "How does he do that?"

Frisk shrugged. "You know, I don't have a clue. He's never told me before." She looked to the side before chuckling. "Sometimes, in other timelines, he'd bring me to locations in the blink of an eye." She went back to looking at me. "I think it's some kind of teleportation or something."

I looked out at where Sans had been for a few moments. "The skeleton brothers confuse." I shook my head before looking over at Frisk. "Anyway, who's Undyne?"

She jumped slightly as her eyes lit up. "Oh!" She straightened herself. "Monster Kid told you the truth. She's the captain of the royal."

I smiled slightly. "And she's very cool?"

She half smirked before looking to the side. "Yeah. She's really cool."

"Well, I look forward to shaking her hand then!"

She shook her head before walking past me. "You might not want to do that for a while."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "Why's that?" I slightly shouted; she was gaining quite the distance."

She looked back at me with a smile. "She might rip it off!" she said like it wasn't completely horrifying to hear.

"...what?..." I said under my breath. She was too far away to hear me. Seeing as I was going to get no answer, I sighed; _I guess I'll just have to find out_. After psyching myself up a bit, I ran after her.


	12. Gaster

"Nothing makes sense," I spoke out to the darkness. It almost felt like it had a mind of it's own. From the small experiments I had done on it, it essentially did. "Nothing made sense the moment Sans interacted with me. It should've... never happened. It was supposed to never happen, so why did it?" The hand I had grown so used to calling my own appeared from nothing and scratched my chin. Unlike my real hands, a hole was right in the middle. "Perhaps my original theory was wrong..." Another hand appeared before floating in front of me. It stuck it's palm out, a stack of glowing pieces of white paper appearing above it, floating; it was written in a language only beings like me understood. "Perhaps Jack is more than a glitch."

I began skimming through the first page. "Maybe these old entries have answers." It had been such a long time since I had interacted with these, but despite that, it felt like I had just written them. " ** _Entry number one_** ," I read aloud to myself. " ** _I have started my new job as the royal scientist. Thank goodness my father was friends with Asgore, otherwise, I feel this opportunity would have never come to me_**." Reading those brought back memories I had long since forgotten; before the resets, before the core, I had a life. _If only I could remember more_. The hand that had been rubbing my chin made a fist. Anger rushed into my head, a feeling that was all too familiar "What I would give to have that back..."

The hand eventually stopped clenching itself together and relaxed once more. I cleared my throat before continuing. " ** _As of now, I lack a lab. Fortunately, Asgore has lent me an empty building in the capital to use in the meantime. He has assigned me an interesting task. He wants me to build a renewable power source for the entire underground. This task will prove to be quite... challenging, as I have found out, and will most likely test the limits of my education, but I am ready for the hardships to come._ " **There was a long pause that went until the bottom of the page. **"** _ **I have already started sketching the blueprints**._"

A chuckle couldn't help but escape my mouth. "Such determination..." I sighed as another hand appeared. It picked up the page and moved it to the back of the stack, revealing the second entry. "If only I had kept some." I focused my attention back onto the next entry; this one was much shorter. " _ **Entry number two. Something has happened. Something exciting. I can not explain much in words, but I have met someone that I know, for a fact, will lead me to greatness. I have to cut this short, they want to meet right now.** " _That was all on the page. The hand came back up and rubbed my chin. "Strange. I don't remember who this person is, or even writing this..." The hand moved the page to the back before I could ponder my thought any longer. I sighed. "Oh well. I suppose we will continue."

The next one seemed to have slightly sloppier handwriting, but was about the same length as the first entry. **" _Entry number three. Asgore has started construction on my lab. It will be located near the entrance of Hotland and will be powered by the heat given off from the lava. This has inspired me with ideas for the core. I originally planned to locate it somewhere in Waterfall and power it off the movement of the streams, but this seems like a much better idea. Of course, it will have to be much bigger and the mechanisms will have to sustain much more heat, but, in theory, it could work. Only time will tell_**." I nearly forgot my original plan for the core. I shook my head. "How did I ever think that would work? Hydroelectricity very rarely works in powering cities, let alone an entire species." I shook my head for a few more moments before turning to the next page.

" _ **Entry number four. Asgore has yet to finish my lab. Because of this, he has told me to take a break from my work. He says I'm working myself to my breaking point. Little does he know, I have been through far worse. But, I will not complain. A vacation is always welcome. In the meantime, he has enlisted two children under my care. Sans and Papyrus, both skeletons like myself. Asgore told me that they found them wandering around Waterfall. Apparently, they had been abandoned by their parents. For some strange reason, the two of them refuse to talk about their parents. Assigning me with children is a mistake in my eyes. My father had always been cold to me, so I fear I might be the same. Although, that doesn't mean I won't try. I will give it my all to give these children a childhood they can look back on with smiles.** "_

I smiled slightly. "Ah, fond memories." It quickly vanished as the next page was shown. "Too bad I wasted them."

" _ **Entry number five. My lab is near completion and, on the day it's finished, I will be asked if I want to keep the children. As of now, I will keep them. I have run little experiments on them here and there. It has given me great insight into who they are. Papyrus is exceptionally strong for his age, but his empathy gets in the way of using it. I do not want to remove his empathy, I simply want to teach him how to turn it off when need be. He is also lacking in traditional education. I will have to teach him many things. Sans does not have the strongest body, but the way he can tap into his magic is truly powerful. He has shown me that he can throw me across the room with the flick of his wrist. No other child has been presented with this type of strength. His brain is also years beyond him. I have given him tests and he passes them without effort. He once stumbled upon my blueprints and actually understood what they said. He almost reminds me of... myself. Further experiments are required**._"

"You have such potential, Sans." The page was turned. "Why you waste it all on sleeping, I will never understand." I was about to read the new entry when talking filled my head. _They_ were close. "Ah," I said. The papers vanished from the hand in front of me before it snapped. A small slit was cut into the nothingness before it began to fall apart, leaving behind a window into Waterfall. The window showed Jack and Frisk running towards Sans's sentry station; Sans was passed out inside of it. "I see they have reached Waterfall." Muffled sounds came from behind the window.

They stopped running once they reached Sans. Frisk got closer to him while Jack stayed in place, a small grin forming on his face. Sans suddenly woke up, his muffled voice echoing through the darkness. Frisk fell back before landing on the floor. I forced the hands around me to vanish. "This will be very, very interesting."

* * *

The three of them bantered for a while before Sans gave them their bookbags. _They're so forgetful_. There was more talking before the sounds of Monster Kid crying could be heard. Frisk rushed over while Jack and Sans took a bit longer. Two monsters I had never seen were the cause of all the crying. "Strange... I don't know their names." I paused. "Jack must have caused them." After some childish banter and teasing, things got serious when Jack pulled out his shield. A hand instantly appeared, clenched into a fist. "That **Damed soul**! If **she** **hadn't _been there_** , I **could** _have_ **saved _this_** _timeline!_ " My anger stayed for a few more moments before I had regained control. I glanced over at the hand before making it disappear. "I must not let my emotions control me. They are the reason I'm stuck in this prison, after all."

Frisk had been pulled onto the floor and Jack was in the process of running to her. I pondered for a moment. "What would happen if I..." I made a hand form before I commanded it to go through the window. Like normal, it worked. I had to react fast considering Jack had almost reached Frisk. As quickly as I could, I made it grab onto Jack's leg and pull him onto the floor. It worked like a charm. I forced the hand to vanish before Jack could see it. My plan had worked. I leaned back a little. "This should make things interesting."

One of the new monsters began to punch Frisk, while the other rushed over to Jack. They began to kick him repeatedly, causing him to clench his eyes shut. The moment his first kick landed, Jack's soul was forced to pop out; it floated above. A hand appeared and began to rub my chin once more. "His soul is unlike any other I've ever seen." I forced a diagram of a soul to appear next to me as I looked over at it, "Despite his soul being somewhat weak, his Determination far exceeds even that of Frisk. Yet, he has not presented the ability to control the timeline. Why is that the case?" I began to search through my memories. "He was able to defy death itself, far more than Frisk ever was. Not only did his soul persist after reaching negative HP, but so did his body." The fight between Asriel and Frisk flooded through my mind. "While it's true Frisk was able to fight death, she never presented the ability to die, then force herself back up."

While I was still pondering over it all, my thoughts were cut short by talking coming from the window. I focused my attention back on it; no one was moving their mouth, but I could still hear the voice. It was quieter than a whisper, but it was indeed still there. I got closer to the window in a desperate attempt to get even just a glimpse at who was talking. No one presented themselves as the voice got slightly louder. "What's... happening?" The voice kept on increasing their volume. It wasn't just one voice, it was many. It sounded like hundreds of people all whispering different things. While I was still staring at the window, a crack suddenly went across it, making me jump back a little. "What the..." The window now showed something that wasn't there before. An almost transparent black cloud was circling around Jack, like it had a mind of it's own. Somehow, I knew the voices were coming from it.

Another crack appeared on the window and the black cloud got slightly thicker. The voices could be heard as clear as day now, saying whatever it was they were. Another crack went through the window as black tentacle-like objects shot out of the cloud; they squirmed around for a few moments before going down and wrapping around Jack. The voices were now screaming at the top of their lungs. The kicking and punching were still going on as the cloud began to circle around Jack faster and faster. Then, nothing. The voices remained, but they had returned to being quite. But, when another crack went through the window, that all changed.

Jack's eyes shot open the moment it happened. The once blue pupils resembled more of a black and it seemed to be spreading to the white of his eyes as well. In unison, the voices began to laugh, manic behind them, as another crack went through the window. If I had ears, I imagined they would be bleeding. Two more cracks went skyrocketing through the window; it was near it's breaking point. I took a few steps back. "This... isn't good." Without warning, the window shattered, the voices disappearing with it.

Silence filled the air once again. I shook my head a few times before looking down. "What did I just witness?"I glanced over at one of the pieces of the window; it only showed my reflection "It's never shattered before..."

I sighed as I looked out at the void. I could almost see figures in the distance, moving about. "This timeline is doomed, isn't it?" Three of the figures turned to me. One of them shrugged, one nodded, and the one shook it's head. I chuckled. "I guess you don't know either..."


	13. The Knight (or Dame?)

The cave began to get less wide and more darker the longer I followed Frisk. Long, overgrown blades of grass had begun to shoot out of the rocky floor; they had a blue color to them, like everything else in Waterfall. I must have been moving slowly because Frisk was still quite the distance in front of me. I was thinking about jogging up next to her, but then I felt a sudden push against my body from behind. It wasn't strong enough to make me lose my balance, but it did move me a few feet forward. I quickly spun around, thinking I had been attacked; my guard went down when I saw that familiar green glow.

"Grace?" I held back from shouting. She had her arms firmly wrapped around me, face planted in my stomach. I was confused about why I could feel her weight against me; she never had presented the ability to do that before. "Why'd you run into me?"

I heard what sounded like a sob from her before looking up at me; green, transparent tears ran down her face. "You made me so scared!" she shouted up at me.

My eyes widened a little bit. I moved my hands to calm her, in a similar way you would do to a dog. "Woah, what do you mean?"

She let go of me as she took a few steps back, still looking up at me. "I was already scared when those bullies started hurting you, but then this feeling took over your mind and you started hurting them too..." She crossed her arms and looked down at the floor. "It just made me feel really bad and scared."

I looked at her for a moment before smiling. _I guess she's gotten attached to me._ Another tear left her eyes as I got down on one knee and met her eye level. "Hey, look..." I grabbed onto her shoulder, causing her to look at me with slightly wide eyes; her head never turned to me, though. She was indeed physically there. "Those bullies really scared me too, like a lot. I thought I was going to die." I tried to give her a gentle smile. "But don't about them. Sans scared them pretty good, so I doubt we'll be seeing them anytime soon." Her head now looked at me, the sad expression partly gone. "As for that feeling... well, I don't really know what happened there. I didn't want to hurt them, but that feeling had taken control. Don't worry, though, I won't let it happen again." _I can't let it happen again..._

She stared at me for a while before half-smiling. "... Promise?"

I chuckled slightly before nodding my head, letting go of her shoulder. "I promise."

The sad expression vanished from her face the moment I finished, replaced by her bright smile. I would've smiled back, but a cold breath going against my neck made me freeze. A hand came down and gripped onto my shoulder with surprising strength; I recognized the hand. It was my own. I slowly looked over. The demon, as I had come to call it, stared at me with its hollow eyes, a smile across their face. "Don't lie to them now, Jack," they said with their empty voice; both their body and voice flickered just as much as always. I still wondered who the girl was. It shook their head. "You would hate to break their heart now, wouldn't you?"

My eyes slowly moved away from the demon and back onto Grace; she was raising an eyebrow, but she didn't seem distressed at all. My eyes focused back on the thing. "Oh, are you worried about her seeing me? You think just because she's a ghost that she had the ability to notice me?" Their head disappeared, so did their grip on my shoulder. It didn't last long though as I felt two hands clench onto my shoulder, almost causing pain. "Like I said, Jack. You, and only you, will ever see me. I am your blessing alone, even if you do call me a demon."

Grace eyed me even harder now. "Is there a reason you're standing there completely frozen, or are you just doing it for fun?"

Despite the fact that the demon felt like they were pushing me down, I was able to stand back on my feet. I shook my head in an attempt to forget what was behind me. "I just thought I saw something."

She stared at me with a raised eyebrow before eventually looking away. "Well, if that's the case, I guess I'll go back in the bracelet." Her body began to fall apart and zoom onto my arm. Right before her head started to turn to ash, she looked at me. "And Jack, come up with a more creative excuse. It's kinda tiring hearing you say that over and over again."

I gave her wide eyes as the last bit of her zoomed into my arm. A small, green blast of light came from the emerald heart as I looked down into it; only my reflection stared back. Eventually, I looked back up and turned to where I was walking. The demon leaned against a wall not too far in the distance and Frisk was now out of my sight. They slowly turned their head towards me. "Better hurry, Jack." A wide, empty smile spread across their face. "The clock is ticking."

A little bit of panic went through my body. _What do they mean by that?_ I began walking in Frisk's footsteps. They stared at me for a few seconds before, after I blinked, completely vanishing. An uneasy feeling sunk into my stomach the further I walked, their words repeating in my head. I felt like running, but I had a feeling they were just trying to scare me. My thoughts couldn't finish before I heard someone next to me. I looked over; the demon was staring me in my eyes. They stuck their finger up and began moving it back and forth. "Tick... tock. Tick... tock," their voice echoed in my ears.

I eyed them for a few more seconds before looking forward again. "Stop that," I said my first words to it.

They put their hand down and half-smiled. "Stop what?"

I glanced over at them, then back where I was staring. "Stop trying to scare me."

They made an exaggerated shocked face. "Oh, Jack!" They frowned, their eyes never changing. "You think I'm lying to you?" Their hand came up and clenched their chest before walking ahead of me, not looking back at me. "You're breaking my heart!"

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah right. Frisk can handle herself. Besides, what could happen to her in a few minutes?"

They turned around, their smile across their entire face now. "A lot, actually."

I squinted at them. "Care to tell one?"

They vanished before reappearing next to me. "I won't just tell you a random one; I'll tell you what happens if you don't start running." I gave them the stare of "Just tell me already." Their smile got wider as they stuck up their hand. "See my arm?" I slightly nodded. A knife appeared, floating in the air. The demon eyed it before snapping their fingers. It came flying down right into their arm, going all the way through. Their arm fell on the floor as they looked over at me.

I stared at the now stub, wide-eyed. A shock of pain went through my head, so I clenched onto it. "There's no way you're telling the truth." I looked on the floor. "You're just lying so you can scare me, you're just trying to traumatize me..." I looked up. "... right?"

When I glanced back over at them, their arm had returned completely undamaged. They pointed off in the distance, still looking at me. The moment the did, the voice of a panicked Frisk screaming "Jack!" filled the air. I stared off in the distance, panic filling all of my body. I could hear my heartbeat pick up in pace when the demon walked in front of me. They gave the widest smile I had seen yet. "Better start running."

I didn't need any more evidence as I began to bolt off into the distance; my mind was going a million miles a minute. The closer I got, the more sounds I heard. At first, it was some simple running water. Then clashes and clanks began to fill the air. Then splashes of water. Then the sound of metal slamming against stone. ...Then screaming. When I finally got there, I wasn't expecting what I saw. Frisk was standing in the path of a waterfall, her hair blowing in the wind; half of a broken spear was clenched in her hands. She was soaking wet and a few fresh cuts were in her face. In front of her was some sort of knight. Their helmet almost resembled a piranha. They had their hand pointing in the sky, dozens of blue, glowing spears floated behind them.

The knight glared at Frisk, not yet noticing me. "Human!" They shouted out; despite the sound of water covering their voice, I could tell it was a girl. "Just give up already! We both know you can't win this fight!" Frisk didn't react for a few moments before digging her feet into the ground, still clenching the broken spear. I heard a scoff come from the knight, then I could almost feel the smile she had. "Fine!" She slowly brought down her hand that was pointing in the sky. It eventually pointed at Frisk. "We'll do this the hard way."

She clenched her hand into a fist and, without a moment's notice, the spears came rushing towards Frisk at great speeds; she looked terrified as she clenched her eyes shut. Suddenly, a snap echoed through my ears. Everything Froze as the demon stepped in front of me. "So..." They turned around and looked at the scene. "Believe me now?" I tried to talk, but my mouth felt frozen shut. They continued to stare at the scene, mainly Frisk, before sighing. "Well." They looked back at me. "What's the so-called 'big hero' going to do to 'save' the damsel in distress?" Without any of my input, my bracelet began to glow green. They gave me a stern look. "That's what I thought. Their eyes stared into mine for a few moments before they stepped out of the way and presented the scene like it was a piece of art. "Be my guest."

I tried to take a step forward and... succeded. Albeit, it was a lot harder than normal. The demon eyed me up and down before completely vanishing after my next blink. The moment they did, time resumed, this time at a crawl; I seemed to be the only one not affected by the "slow down." Using what little energy I had left, I began running to Frisk. The ticking of a clock began to echo through my ears the closer I got. Eventually, I jumped in between the two of them, summoned my shield. and covered my face hoping for the best. Not a second later, the ringing of a grandfather clock began to echo through my mind; each time a "Ding" rang in my ears, time picked up speed just a little bit. The spears came faster and faster at me until, after twelve rings, time had returned to normal.

The almost transparent spears came zooming at me faster than I could blink. A loud clanking sound could be heard as each one shattered against my shield. I knew it was safe to put down my shield when all I could hear was rushing water. The knight's, or dame's, eyes were visible through her helmet. The anger and passion behind them almost startled me. "Where the hell were you?" Frisk said from behind.

I glanced back at her as I readied myself for the next barrage of spears. "Sans pulled me over to say a few extra words." I had finally gained Frisk's ability to lie easily.

"Sans?!" The knight said with surprise behind her voice. "Is that lazy bones not doing his job again?" I looked up at her a bit shocked; she did not seem like the type of person to be friends with Sans. She eventually shook her head. "Eh, it doesn't matter..." A few dozen spears appeared once again, this time all around us. "I'll just kill you MYSELF!"

The spears came zooming down as Frisk jumped by my side, blocking a few of them with her broken one in the process. She glanced at me before blocking a few more. "It's probably a good idea to run!" she shouted.

"You know..." I blocked a few spears and rolled out of the way for some; one almost scraped my jacket, which I probably should have taken off. "That sounds _really_ good right now!"

Frisk didn't need any more convincing before rolling out of the stream of the waterfall and running down the path. I was able to roll out of the way, but just before I started running. a wall of spears shot out of the ground a few inches in front of me. The knight let out a... strange laugh. "Did you really think I'd let you escape that easily?" I was about to run around the spears, but then a sharp pain went through my leg. I glanced down; a blue spear went through my leg, a good chunk of my blood on it. I felt like I was about to pass out as the knight rushed over and swooped me up by my throat. They eyed me as I tried to pry their grip off of me. "Sorry, kid," they said with a tad bit of sadness behind their voice. A dozen spears appeared behind them. "If it makes you feel better, I'll make sure your friend over there survives."

I looked over at where Frisk has been running. She now looked at me with wide eyes. Panic rushed through my body; I had defeated death once, but there was no guarantee I could do it again. Right before the spears came rushing down, my bracelet began to glow. It got brighter and bright. It was so bright that even the knight was staring at it now. Then a loud bang echoed all around me as my vision went black.


	14. Chapter 14

My eyes fluttered open despite the fact that I never remembered shutting them. Even then, everything was still black; I could see my body though, giving me a hint on where exactly I was. Besides for the aching headache, I felt fine. Just tired... really tired. I barely remembered what happened. I ran to Frisk, blocked some spears, almost got killed by the knight, then... nothing. I grabbed my head as I looked around. Darkness surrounded. That was all the evidence I needed to know exactly where I was. The-

"The void, right?" a voice I hadn't heard before said in the distance. Their gender was hard to pinpoint.

I looked out at where I had heard the voice, partially frozen with panic. "... what?"

I heard a step in the distance as the voice continued. "You think you have been brought back into the void. You think Gaster is about to appear and try to kill you again. You don't know if he will win..." Another step. "Right?"

"Umm, yeah." Another step echoed as I took four back. "How did you know that?"

A small chuckle came from the voice. "Oh, I know a lot about you, Jack."

I clenched up a bit. "Like what?"

I felt a breath on my neck as something grazed my shoulder. I spun around; nothing but darkness. "I know you just turned sixteen and are eager to start driving." The voice came from the same direction as before. "I know you have a friend named Comet who misses you dearly." Another graze on my shoulder made me turn around. "I know you take James Hendricks History class and pranked him with a tarantula. I know you're getting quite attached to the girl you've been traveling with. I know about the demon that rests in your head." They paused for a moment. "But most importantly..." Their voice said from behind me. "I know what you will become."

A step coming from behind made me freeze; it sounded so close. I felt scared to turn around. "H-how?"

They busted out into laughter just inches behind me. "Because..." A hand clenched onto my shoulder. "... Jack..." A few seconds of silence passed before they jerked my shoulder back, causing me to spin around. I couldn't process who was in front of me before I was grabbed by my neck and lifted off the floor. "I am... you." My jaw felt like it would fall off when I saw who was staring me in the eyes. It was myself. A big gash was through their face, a smile across it, and both blood and dust covered their hands. But, besides that, I felt like I was staring into a mirror.

They gave me a good, long stare before they began to laugh. They laughed louder and louder as our surroundings began flickering from the waterfall stream I was just on a few moments ago, and back again to the black void. My ears began to ring, their laughter could be heard through it. I could hear more voices laughing as the thing flickered between me and the knight. An army of people sounded like they surrounded me, pointing their fingers and laughing; it was driving me insane. The flickering got faster and faster as visions of Frisk losing her arm entered my head. The voices laughing almost sounded like they were screaming as...

...Nothing...

The reflection slowly lowered me onto the floor and gave me a stern look into my eyes. He sat there a moment before sighing, looking to the side. "Whatever you plan on doing, just remember something. " He returned to staring me in the eyes. "Never trust **_It_**." He finished as his body began to almost... vanish. His feet began to get transparent as it spread up his legs. Soon, the rest of his body would follow. "Good luck, Jack." His chest was now transparent as it began making it's way up his neck. He frowned. "You'll need it," he said his final words as what was left of his body completely vanished... and I was left with no one once again. Alone in the dark.

* * *

I jolted awake and clenched my chest; my heart was racing and my entire body shook. I could feel the cold sweat covering my forehead. I couldn't calm myself down before I heard a groan come from my side. My head jolted towards it; clearly I was still on high alert. I felt my heartbeat slow a little when I saw Grace laying on the floor. She slowly turned her head to me, barely a smile across her face. "Look who finally woke up," she said; her voice sounded tired and was quieter than normal. She suddenly sat up, causing me to flench back a little. "What's wrong?" she asked. I tried to answer, but my voice was too shaky to say much. She eyed me for a moment. "You had a nightmare, didn't you?"

I stared her in the eyes for a moment. "... Y-yeah." I looked away from her and took a deep breath, trying to calm myself. It was just a nightmare, there was no need to be scared. "... Yeah. I had a really bad one." I said. My voice was just barely a whisper. My reflection's words still lingered in my head. _**It**... who's **It**?_

She nodded her head as she looked out in the distance. There was a moment of silence as she collected her thoughts. "When I was still alive, I had some really bad nightmares too." She turned back to me, her smile more prevalent. "My mom used to sing me this song to calm me. It always ended up putting me back to sleep." She kept smiling until a frown suddenly spread across her face, like a dagger was stabbed into her back. She looked away with a sigh, her eyes a bit watery. A long pause of silence as she wiped the water away, then... "I miss her."

I looked at her for a little bit longer, then looked out to where she was looking. My brain searched for something to cheer her up; I really sucked at that. Frisk was easy, just had to give her a hug and she usually felt better. Same with Comet. With Grace… Well, that wasn't really an option. Finally, I found something. I sighed as I put my thoughts into words. "If it makes you feel better, I miss my parents too." I felt her gaze on me, but I continued looking out into the distance. "Yeah, sure; both of them are always working. But the few times I get to see them... the few moments we spend together in a month..." I returned her stare with a smile. "I wouldn't trade anything for them."

She eyed me for a moment before a small smile returned. "Maybe, if you and Frisk somehow get out of here, maybe I'll get to meet them." The barrier... I had almost forgotten about it; I didn't really pay attention when Sans told me.

"Yeah..." I said, unsure if it was even possible for me to leave. I chuckled. "I mean, it's gonna take a lot of explaining for them to believe anything I say, but I think they'll like you once they finally get to know you."

Her smile got even wider now. "I'm looking forward to it."

We stared at each other for a moment before a few drops of water made me aware of my surroundings. A huge stream of water coming down sat in front of me; light came from above. Everywhere else was surrounded by a thick darkness. There also seemed to be... fog in the air. The floor, including what I was sitting on, mostly had old garbage and rocks covering the stone. There was no ceiling in sight. "So..." I stood up; my body felt sore, but not enough to stop me. I scratched the back of my head as I looked around. "What happened? Cause I don't really remember."

Grace looked at me before forcing herself up as well; she groaned slightly. "When you were up there, that knight almost killed you, so I formed a shield around you. They let you go and you fell down here." She yawned. "It took a lot of energy to make sure the fall didn't kill you."

I continued looking at what little I could see of my surroundings. "Thanks. I would've died a lot by now if I never found you." I saw Grace smile at me in the corner of my eye; she was so strong for her age. Then again, she was technically a couple of hundred years old. I shook my head and was about to turn away, but then I noticed something. It wasn't a person or anything big. In fact, I'm surprised I even saw it. It looked like a star, but a lot smaller. Something about it gave me this... feeling. I couldn't quite describe it, but it felt like it was almost pulling me in by a rope. "Hey, Grace?" I said, still squinting at the star. I looked over at her. "Do you see that s-" When I turned back, it was nowhere in sight.

"Do I see what?" she asked.

I looked out into the distance for a few more moments; even though the star had vanished, that feeling didn't. It felt like it was almost my destiny to go to it. Eventually, I shook my head once again. "Nothing." I turned to her. "Just that I saw something."

She squinted at me for a moment before pointing out to where I was looking. "Did you see it over there?" I felt a little tense as I nodded. She walked past me and took her first step into the darkness."Then we should go check it out! Maybe you did see something."

Even though most of me wanted to go, I felt panic for some reason, causing me to not move a muscle. My brain searched for an excuse to not go. "I think we should worry about getting out of here first," I eventually came up with one.

She looked back at me with a grin on her face, still walking further into the darkness. "Maybe it's the way out."

I stared at her for a second before sighing. "Fine." I walked over and next to her side. "Let's just make it quick."

Maybe it was because of my recent bad experiences with the dark, but I felt on edge the entire walk. Grace did provide a slight glow, allowing me to see what trash was crunching under my feet, but it wasn't nearly enough to see two feet in front of me. Despite that, every step we took forward made that feeling stronger; whatever was out there was calling me to it. The only thing I could do was hope it wasn't some horrific beast. I tried changing Grace's mind a few times. Every time, though, she started walking a little faster. At the very least, she was stubborn, and I wasn't sure if that was a good thing.

Eventually, it got to the point where I didn't need to see to know where exactly I needed to go; it literally felt like I was being pulled by a rope. Before, it was just a little suggestion in the back of my mind telling me to go here or there. Now, I couldn't go in the wrong direction if I tried. My legs were tired when I finally stopped in my tracks; how far had we walked? The feeling had completely vanished. Grace turned to me. "Well, are we here?"

I scratched my head as I looked around. I don't know why, though; I knew I'd only see black. "I think so."

Grace chuckled. "Then this was a waste of time." She looked down and pointed to the floor, it was surprisingly bare. "Not even trash is here!"

She kicked a stone as I smiled slightly. "Well, this was your idea." I took a few steps forward. "Don't blame me for-" _CRUNCH!_ The sound of metal scraping against stone filled the mostly empty air. It made me jump back a little. "What was that?!" I asked with panic in my voice as my head darted around the room.

Grace looked entirely unfazed as she pointed at the floor a few feet in front of me. "I think you stepped on something."

I looked at where she was pointed and was shocked to see something that wasn't just junk. It was a golden... heart locket. Still shiny too; it glimmered like a star. "Whoah..." I took a few steps towards it. There was some sort of symbol engraved in the front. It was hard to tell because of how small it was, but it felt strangely familiar. I bent down and picked it up; surprising weight was behind. I examined all it's sides and was shocked to see that it looked brand new. There wasn't even a single fingerprint. I recognized the symbol now. It was the symbol on Toriel's robe.

During my examination, I noticed a small button on the side. Not having anything better to do, I pressed it. The locket flung open, revealing a picture. It was torn and stained to the point you couldn't make anything out. While I was still squinting at the picture, a mechanical clank came from inside the locket. Shortly after, a music box began playing a tune I had never heard before. Despite that, it felt familiar. Grace came over and looked at the locket as well. The music box played for a while before she spoke; some notes sounded out of tune. "Do you know who's it is?"

"Not really." I looked at every inch of the locket. "There's no name on it."

She stared at it for a few more seconds before looking up and walking away. "Well, it's ours now."

"Yeah..." I let the music box play for a little longer before shutting it. "At least this trip wasn't entirely pointless." Seeing no reason not to, I decided to put it on. It was a little tight, but I was able to fit the thin string around my head. It hung loosely from my neck. I looked around. "Now we just gotta find a way-" A sudden ringing in my ears made me stop. It was loud and painful. Not long after, a headache began pulsing through my head.

I gripped onto my head as I took a few steps back. Grace gave me a worried stare and it looked like she was talking, but I couldn't hear her over the muffling. I looked out into the darkness in an attempt to calm my senses. That didn't last long as some sort of picture flashed through my mind. I couldn't process it all because of how fast it was, but it looked like I saw a little human girl and some sort of monster boy. They hugged each other as the girl held a bundle of flowers in her hand. The girl looked very familiar; she even made my stomach feel uneasy. I didn't have long before another picture flashed in front of me. It was similar to the last one, but they looked much older, maybe even my age. Another image flashed, this time showing the girl sipping what looked like a cup of tea. A few golden flowers were in it.

The next one came even faster. The girl was in a bed, three figures looming above them. The next one showed the girl whispering something to the monster boy, and then... the girl lied limp in her bed. No color was in any of her body, her soul floating above her with only one figure in the room. That pciture hanged in front of me for a lot longer, but it didn't take long for them to start flashing again, this time even faster. The boy grabbed her soul. Then he was walking with her body in his hand, he looked a lot older and kinda resembled a male version of Toriel. They walked into a white room before the scene switched to a green field. I saw flowers, then the girl's body being dropped onto the same flower bed, and then red filled all of my vision as the ringing got louder. The last image I saw was less of an image and more of a video.

It showed the boy lowering the girl onto the flowers, a spear through his chest. Half of his body was turning to ash. A giant version of Toriel's symbol sat hovering above them, the wings flapping up and down and the circle glowing bright. Something was slightly different about this image, though. First, everything seemed to be playing in slow motion. The spear was still moving through the boy and I could see his arms slowly lowering the girl on top of the flowers. More importantly, though, I could see my body, and even move it! None of the other visions had shown this. I couldn't think at all before I once again felt like I was being yanked by a rope. I took a few steps forward; I was being pulled towards the girl. The ringing in my ears was still there, but I could still hear something over it. I couldn't quite put my finger on it as I took another step. It got louder. Whatever it was, it didn't sound pleasant. Another step; they were so close now that I felt like I could touch them. In fact, that's what I planned on doing.

I reached my hand out to the girl. Her eyes were lightly closed and, somehow, color had returned to her cheeks while everything else remained a cold pale. It almost looked like she was blushing because of how bright it was. It made me uncomfortable, to say the least. The closer my hand came to her, the louder that noise got. It got louder, and louder, and louder, until my hand finally touched her shoulder. The sound continued increasing in volume before it hit me on what I was hearing. Two voices screaming. And... there was nothing; my hand just resting on her shoulder as the screaming began to quiet down. Then, just as silence entered the air once again, her head snapped towards me. Her eyes were wide open, a deep red staring back at me. I wanted to look away, but my eyes refused to move. I felt the reality I had entered collapse around me as the girl continued staring into my soul, and...

* * *

My eyes had shot open; I had passed out? But I was standing, there was no way that was possible. I didn't even feel like I had just woken up. The headache had stopped, along with the ringing. My eyes had been focusing on my hands; the locket was in the same one I used to touch the girl. I looked up to get a better look at my surroundings and... red filled my vision. Instinctively, I jolted back, giving me a better look at what was in front of me. It was the girl, although she did look a bit different. She was standing right in front of me, her head tilted to the side as her eyes squinted at me. Her clothes were slightly different from the visions; she had a green-ish jacket with a striped green and yellow sweater on underneath. In the vision, she only had the sweater. Her body resembled the state Grace's was in, but she had all the colors from the vision instead of being a solid one. So, basically, her body was slightly transparent with a visible soul in the middle. It glowed red. She was around Frisk's height, so she had to slightly look up at me. Nothing about her was threatening, but my stomach still felt a bit uneasy. Maybe it was because of how hard she was staring at me.

She continued to stare at me, not saying a word. It made me very uncomfortable. I glanced around to see where Grace was, but she had completely disappeared. I adjusted myself to met her gaze "Umm..." I said, only causing her to squint at me harder. I stuck my hand up and waved. "Hi?"

She didn't react as she began eyeing my body up and down. I felt like a lab rat being inspected by a bunch of scientists. She stayed silent for a long time making me think that I was going to have to fill the silence, but then she opened her mouth. "You're new," she said.

She began to circle around me as I raised an eyebrow. "Huh?"

She went all the way around me before saying a word. "I've never seen you before." She continued walking but stopped right behind me. "Don't even know your STATS."

I looked back at her the best I could. She sounded more confusing than Frisk when she went on her rambles. "What the hell are you talking about?"

"STATS." When she saw that my confused expression had only gotten worse, she sighed. "Strength, Then Attack, Then Summary. It could also be defined as statistics, but I prefer the acronym."

I lowered my eyebrow slightly, but it was still very much raised. It sounded like a stupid RPG mechanic. "Umm... okay, I guess." I felt a poke on my shoulder; she really was treating me like a lab rat! "Why would you need to know that?"

She walked back in front of me. "It's good to know."

I squinted at her. The way she answered everything so "matter of fact" like made me annoyed. It reminded me of how Frisk acted when we first met; she'd just run off into the distance, not giving me even a hint at what we were doing. The girl squinted at my face for a bit before her eyes went down to my chest. She gave it a good, long stare, then she stuck her hand out in front of it. Without any say in the matter, my soul came flying out with great speed; it was so fast that it pulled me forward a few feet. My soul abruptly stopped above her palm and gently floated there. I felt myself began to tip over. "What the hell?!" I shouted at her as I regained my balance.

She examined it, then began poking it like some sort of dead animal. I could feel it; it felt like someone stuck their finger into me and began wriggling it around. After awhile, she finally stopped. "That's weird."

Who knew those two words would worry me so much. "What do you mean?"

She looked up at me. "Your soul is clearly human, but your body seems to be made of the same thing monsters are."

I widened my eyes a bit, believing what she said at first. My surprised expression quickly turned back to a neutral one. She had to be lying "There's no way! I bleed, and have organs, and all that gory stuff!"

She raised an eyebrow at me. "How did you know that?"

"Huh?"

She adjusted herself before resting her hands into her pockets; my soul continued to float in front of her. "How did you know that monsters don't have organs or blood?" I could have been seeing things, but I swore I saw her face get slightly more stern. "Did you kill one?"

"What?" I was appalled at the mere thought, so much so that I jumped back a little. "No! Of course not! I just..." I thought I'd have clear reasons for why I knew, but I didn't. Nothing at all came to mind. I turned to the side and scratched my chin, thinking it might help. Of course, it didn't. I eventually looked back at her. "... I don't know."

She gave me a long, hard stare before her face relaxed at little. "Well, you clearly aren't lying." She stayed silent for a moment. "We'll just assume you heard it in a conversation." She continued to stare at me. After nothing was said for a few seconds, she continued. "Well, as I was saying before." She grabbed my soul. "Your body isn't all magic like monsters, but a good chunk of it is. You know how 60% of humans are water?" I nodded. "Well, your's is more like 25% water and 35% magic, which really shouldn't be possible."

I waited for her to say more, but she just sat there, staring at my soul. I decided to fill the silence. "So... what? My existence is just impossible?" I was being reminded of what Gaster said to me; that I'm nothing more than a _glitch._

She shrugged. "I mean, not really. Monsters and humans can technically have kids, which would make a body similar to your's; it's just really hard." She stared at my soul for a few more seconds before returning my gaze. "But that's not really the issue. Monsters haven't been on the surface for thousands of years. So, unless your parent's are vampires and are children of both a monster and a human..." She gave me a stern stare. "You shouldn't exist."

My eyes got wide before I shook my head. "You're very blunt." I returned to looking at her. "Almost too much."

She chuckled before shrugging. "I gotta be. Whenever I'm with Frisk, I'm basically their encyclopedia."

"Wait, you know Frisk?"

She nodded. "Yep. I usually wake up next to her after every reset, all the way at the beginning of the underground." She looked around. "This time was a bit... different." She went back to staring at me. "I usually hang around, tell a few sassy comments, and might give her some info depending on how I'm feeling."

 _Ah, so she's basically Grace, but a lot less nice_. She had to sit down here the entire time; that must've been boring. I shrugged. "Well, uh... would you like to join me? I'm trying to get out of here, so it should give you a different experience. "

She scratched her chin as she began pacing around the place. "It's really boring down here, and kinda scary, but they are human. How do I know I can trust them..." she mumbled to herself. If we weren't in a place that was completely silent, I probably wouldn't have heard her. She eventually sighed as she faced me again. "Alright, fine. I'll join you. I do have a question first." I raised my eyebrows trying to show that I was ready for it. "Who are you?"

I felt embarrassed as my eyes got wide. "Oh! I can't believe I haven't said my name yet!" I adjust myself to look as best as possible. "I'm Jack."

She squinted at me. "Jack, huh?" Her face relaxed. "Alright; it's a generic name, so I shouldn't forget it." _Definitely too blunt_. "Anyway, I should probably tell you mine now." She gave my soul a little tap and it went right back into my body. "I'm Chara."

"Alright, Chara." I looked down at the locket that was still in my hands. "How do I, uh, get you to stay with me?"

She pointed at my hands. "Just put on the locket. It should bond me to your soul for a while." I gave her a suspicious stare; I didn't want to re-experience _that_. "Don't worry, you shouldn't blackout this time."

I continued to stare at her before, hesitantly and slowly, I began to put on the locket. Once I felt it hanging loosely around my neck, I relaxed a bit. Thank god I was never going to go through _that_ again. I sighed as I looked around. _Guess I'm stuck with her for now. I wonder how Grace is going to react to her?_ I glanced around thinking I would see something. "So, Chara..." I scratched my neck as I faced her again. "How exactly do we get out of here?"


	15. A Casual Stroll Through the Abyss

Chara glanced around the room before scratching her head. "I don't really have a clue. Never been down here before." I sighed, preparing myself to speak, but then she continued. "Well, there was this one time..." She looked up to the roof; another waterfall was nearby. "Me and Az-" she stopped herself before coughing into her fist. "-A friend, were playing way up there when he accidentally tripped me." She returned to staring into the darkness before pointing in a random direction. "It took a while, but people came from over there to help me."

I began walking in that direction. "Guess we're going there then." She nodded as she began following behind me. It didn't take long before any conversation had halted, replaced by the uncomfortable sound of silence. Chara seemed to not be the best talker. That, or she was avoiding talking to me. Thoughts entered my head over everything that had happened and felt a little bit of panic appearing in my stomach. _Frisk_... _is she okay_? _I know she can handle herself, but that knight almost killed me, and I had a magical shield!_ The more steps we took, the more my brain looked over every tiny detail. _What if that demon was trying to get her arm cut off? Maybe, because of how I acted, she lost it while running away from the knight? She lost her arm because of me. I won't be able to live-_

My thoughts were cut short by a slap hitting me in the back of the head. My eyes went over to the only person that could've done it. "Stop panicking. It's getting really annoying" Chara said, her eyes tired. "Even if she did lose her arm, you know just as well as I that she can control time."

My eyes went wide. "Wait... you can read my mind?"

She sighed before looking up to the sky. "Yes. If two souls that have been bonded have the same trait, they will be able to read each other's thoughts," she said like I asked that question a thousand times. She turned to me. "Why do you ask the same thing every time?"

I raised my eyebrow at her. "What... ?"

She shrugged. "Eh, I guess it doesn't matter. " She stopped walking, leaned back, and closed her eyes. "There should be a reset in 3, 2..." She continued standing there, making me think something was going to happen, but nothing ever did. She opened one eye. "Huh?" She straightened her posture. "Guess not."

I gave her the widest stare I had ever give before slowly shaking my head. "What the hell are you going on about?"

She sighed once again. "Frisk can control time, right?" I nodded. "Well, she's been using that power." She glanced up at the roof before looking back at me. "About 50 times, to be exact."

"What?" I looked around the room almost like I expected to see a sign saying "A RESET HAPPENED." "I didn't even notice!"

She shrugged. "Most don't. You gotta be very observant to even come close." She started walking in the direction we were before. "It's very subtle. Maybe a flicker in your vision, a sound you weren't expecting, a sudden feeling of deja vu, and, the most obvious one, you see Frisk touch a save point more than once." I jogged after her, no way was I being left behind again. "All of them could mean a reset."

My shock began to fade, opening my mind up to what she just said. _She said Frisk had reset... but on our way to Snowdin, she told me she couldn't anymore. Maybe I misheard something, but if Frisk can't reset, then who did?_ I made a mental note to ask Frisk before focusing back on reality. My brain got caught up on one detail. "A save point?"

"Yeah. Those white blobs you see floating around; they're only visible to humans." She stayed silent for a moment before her eyes looked to the side. "Only certain soul traits can use their power, though."

I began to look through my memories as I scratched my chin. "Well, I did see her touch one of those more than once. That melody from your music box also sounded very familiar." I eventually looked back at her. "But, why would she reset that many times?"

"There's a number of reasons. Maybe she died a lot, or maybe she made a wrong choice and tried to fix it. But, most likely..." She turned to me. "She's trying to find a timeline where you don't fall down here." She chuckled. "In fact, she's probably convinced you're dead."

I gave her a long stare. "How is that chuckle-worthy?"

She shook her head. "It's not. I just laugh in tense situations. It's gotten me some..." Her eyes darted to the floor. "... weird stares before."

I made sure to remember that; wouldn't want me thinking that she's some sadist if something bad happened. Even though I wasn't sure whether Frisk had caused the resets, a feeling still crept it's way into my stomach. I sighed. " I feel terrible now. She's probably freaking out thinking I'm dead while also trying to survive a knight. Then there's me, just sitting down here with a dead person." I sighed as I rubbed my head. "Why does this always happen?"

Chara squinted at me. "You're way too hard on yourself." She focused back on the path when she saw me look up. "No one could have predicted this, especially not a boring human like yourself, so stop acting like you caused this." She paused for a moment. "If anyone is to blame here, it's that little green bean you keep with you. She caused you to fall by protecting you." She stayed silent before looking to the side. "Although, the approach she took didn't make any sense. She could have easily formed one of her shields to go crashing into the knight's arm, preventing you from falling down here in the first place."

"Green bean..." My voice trailed off as I realized what she was talking about. "Grace!" I spun towards her. "How do you know about her?"

She slightly squinted at me before returning to normal. "Oh, I didn't tell you. I can see your thoughts..." She tapped on her temple with a grin. "... _and memories,_ " her mouth didn't move, her voice echoing through my mind instead. I jumped back a little from surprise. "In fact, there's a lot of things I can do now that I'm bonded to your soul." I was given no chance to speak before she walked next to me and put her hand in front of my chest. My soul came out, almost like it had a mind of it's own.

"For starters..." She snapped her fingers and, almost like someone had drawn onto my soul, a black line appeared through it. Chara's body flickered for a moment before the transparent effect going through her disappeared. I hadn't noticed until she stopped doing it, but she levitated slightly off the floor before snapping her fingers. She walked in front of me, her footsteps echoing through the room, then my soul... split in two? There was no pain at all, just a weird feeling in my gut. It was a clean-cut, not a jagged edge anywhere. One of the halves went flying towards Chara while the other slowly floated back into me; my half had the missing chunks which had become much more noticeable. She gained a wide smile as her half finally flew into her chest, sending her back a little. She adjusted herself. "I can borrow half of your soul and enter the physical world."

I gave her a good, long stare as she began feeling around her body. You'd expect having half of your being missing to feel strange; it didn't though. The only thing I could notice was that I felt slightly weaker. "Why was Grace never able to do this?" I asked. I thought I'd be more surprised but, turns out after learning monsters live underground and ghosts are real, nothing really surprises you anymore.

Chara squished and molded her face for a bit before focusing her attention on me. "Well, you two don't have the same traits."

I squinted at her. "Traits. You've said that three times now and I still have no idea what it means."

She stared at me before doing a little shrug. "Oh yeah. Well, to cut it short, a soul trait is what your personality is mainly comprised of. Green means kindness, from what I've picked up on. Red means... well, red, I guess; never really learned what it meant." She glanced to the side before returning to me. "But that's not the only reason. Grace is a fragment of a soul, only the essence left behind on her adventures. Her full soul is with Da-" She suddenly stopped before coughing into her arm. "-The king. My soul, on the other hand, or what's left of it..." She pointed at my chest. "Is right in the locket. I only have a small fraction of it left, so I need part of your soul to come back into the physical realm. Grace's piece is far too small to ever hope to do this. "

I tried my best to take everything she said in, but my brain kept hitting speed bumps. I rubbed my head. "So, if I got what you said right..." I pointed to the wristband around my arm. "This powerful girl I have on my arm is only a fraction of what she's capable of?"

She contemplated the answer in her head for a moment. "Not exactly. The fragment has all the same powers as the full soul, even the same strength too. The thing that separates them is the personality. A full soul is stuck to it's trait, only mainly being able to act like it. A fragment, on the other hand, can deviate from the original trait and become something almost unrecognizable to the original personality." When she noticed that I had started to raise an eyebrow, she shook her head. "It doesn't matter, really." She began walking once again in the direction we had been. "Now come on. We have a..." She looked around the room. "...dark abyss to escape."

I sighed. "That only made me more confused." I started following after her. "But okay."

We walked, and we walked, and we walked. The room never seemed to end. It kinda reminded me of the void, in that aspect. Our surroundings never change, just staying the same old black. One noticeable difference though was that I could no longer hear rushing water or feel droplets hit my head; I was thankful for the last one. Feeling water hit your hair every few seconds was almost like torture. The more we walked, the more this feeling built up inside of me. I couldn't put it into words, but it felt like something big was about to happen. I didn't get to think about it for long though because Chara suddenly stopped in her tracks. She squinted in the distance before pushing her hand out. It stopped halfway, a... wall in its way, I think? It was hard to tell. She moved her hand around the wall for a moment, then looked to me. "We reached the end." She took a few steps back and looked up to the ceiling; the little light we had pouring down before had vanished. "Now, how did they get past this-"

Her sentence was cut short as rumbling began echoing through our feet. It made an audible noise, filling up the once silent abyss. Small pebbles began dropping around us, some even landing on my head. It was hard to keep my balance seeing as the rumbling was getting progressively worse; at the rate it was going, a giant crack form, splitting the abyss in two. Suddenly, the wall in front of us began to slowly move... upwards, revealing a light underneath. It looked almost pure white. The wall kept moving up until it got to the point where if I kept my eyes opened, I'd probably go blind. I shut my eyes tight and covered them with my arm; even then, I could still only see white. And then... it all stopped. Well, minus the light; it was still very much there, just not nearly as bright.

I slowly removed my eye shield and opened my eyes. A breathtaking scene was staring me right in the face. Marshes filled with some bright blue liquid produced most of the light, while the ground was almost black, only changing in color from bright blue grass sticking out of the ground. These huge flowers that were almost the size of me filled the environment; like every other plant, they glowed a bright blue. Slightly crooked man-made (or monster-made?) towers stuck out of the marshes, flooded by the bright blue liquid. They looked centuries old and had seemed to been long since abandoned. Ruins of buildings sat around the place, only barely recognizable. Besides for the rushing water, it was dead silent. Whatever that place once was, it was clear we were the first to have entered in a long time.

Chara looked around the place and, for the first time, seemed to be in awe. "I remember this place!" She said as she took a few steps into it. "Although, it looked a lot less... abandoned last time I saw it." She turned to her right, then her left before moving her head towards me. "This way!" she shouted as she ran to the left, giving me no chance to catch up. I sighed before chasing after her.

The floor was some type of spongey material. It made a wet sound with every step I took. Chara seemed to be very happy; it felt very strange after seeing her be so dull. I wondered, and even tried to see what was going through her head, but I got nothing back in response. She never seemed to get tired, running down a mostly deteriorated path. I, on the other hand, was feeling exhausted. I had to keep up with her, though. If we even got separated for a second, I would never find my way out. The path had so many twists and turns that I found it hard to focus on my surroundings. It took a while, but Chara eventually halted in her tracks. I peeked over her shoulder to see why. The path had completely fallen apart, making a straight drop into the marsh. A few of those big, blue flowers were around us. The jump we had to do to get to mostly undamaged path wasn't too big, but it was certainly something I could never dream of making. Seeing as Chara stared at the gap with wide eyes, I assumed she was in the same boat.

I went over and walked next to her. "So..." I said, getting a closer look at the damage that had been done. "What now?"

Chara was still staring at the broke path with wide eyes. "I..." She looked around. "I..." Her head stopped directly to our left, her eyes lighting up. She pointed at a convenient crack in the walls, just big enough to fit a human. "We go in there!" she shouted as she rushed towards them. They squeezed through them with surprising ease before disappearing into the darkness.

I sighed, preparing to do the same, but then stopped right before I reached the cracks. I felt something. It didn't feel bad or leave a pit in my stomach. It was just a feeling. I turned around to face the marsh; one of the towers far in the distance, almost completely in ruins. The feeling got stronger. I squinted off into the distance; surprisingly, I saw a figure atop the tower. I couldn't make out their appearance, gender, or even species, but I knew it was someone. I felt their eyes on me even though it was impossible to see them. Then, it looked like they... waved at me? I could have been wrong but that's what it looked like. I was completely focused on them when, from my right ear, I heard a faint whisper. "... _Jack..._ " I spun towards the voice; only a blue flower greeted me. " _...Jack..."_ The voice said again from the same direction; the flower moved slightly when the voice spoke. Was the flower... trying to talk to me? " _...Don't... trust it..._ " It said the same thing as my reflection.

I got closer to the flower, now convinced it was talking to me. "Who's it?" I asked, hoping for an answer.

There was a long period of silence, then. "... _The man... from the other world_..."

I squinted at it before shaking my head. "Who's that?"

" _...You'll find out... soon enough..."_

"That's not really helpful," I said, expecting a response. I only got silence in return.

I sighed as I turned back to the view. The figure had vanished; a shiver went down my spine. _Was that the man from the other world_? I continued to stare at the tower almost like I expected to see a sign with the answer. Of course, no such thing happened. I chose not to think about it any longer and quickly squeezed myself through the crack, scared of what would happen if I didn't.


	16. William

When I finally slipped through the cracks, another dark room greeted me. Not nearly as dark as the abyss though; I could actually see the walls. It resembled a cave, except it looked like it had been carved out by hand. The unsmooth, rugged walls told me that. Chara stood ways down, staring at me. She took a few steps forward. "Where the hell were you?"

Her presence made me jump a little, but I quickly focused back on her question. I pointed behind me with my thumb. "I was just checking out the view. It's pretty out there." I was worried she'd sense my lie, but went with it anyway. Plus, it was partly true.

She squinted at me; every time she had done that, she knew exactly what I was thinking. As quickly as I could, I tried to blank out my mind. After she gave me a good, long stare, she eventually stopped squinting. A sigh came from her mouth as she rubbed her face, eyes closed. "Look, Jack, I'm really trying to give you a chance here. I really want to believe what Frisk says about other humans, and I'm really trying to give you the benefit of the doubt..." Her eyes suddenly opened and looked at mine. The red orbs seemed to pierce my soul. "But you lying straight to my face is doing quite the opposite."

Part of me was speechless; what did Frisk say about other humans? I scrambled for something to say, a justification for lying. I knew why deep down. It was the reason I always hid away the strange events that had happened to me. I didn't want to make anyone worried, including a ghost I just met. "I-"

She turned around. "Don't bother explaining." There was a moment of silence before she began following the carved out cavern. "I already know." I stood frozen as she continued walking. _Did she actually know, or was she just coming up with her own reasons?_ Eventually, she froze in place and looked back at me. "Well? Are you coming? I personally don't care if you die, but I know Frisk certainly would." My eyes remained wide as I reluctantly began following her.

The cavern didn't go for long; you could actually see the end not too far in the distance. It just didn't look like it lead anywhere. Chara's breathing had gotten a little faster, making me worry if she actually knew where she was going. She'd constantly glance around us before gripping her head tight. A little feeling was starting to appear in my mind too, one which didn't feel like my own. Could we also share emotions? The feeling was similar to panic. Despite that, I continued to follow her; it's not like I knew the place better than she did. My mind slowly drifted back to what had just happened. _Don't trust... the man from the other world, who's that_? The possibilities were truly endless. Gaster was the first that went into my mind, but I quickly dismissed it when I realized that he was in this world, just not apart of it. The demon was my second guess, but I barely knew anything about it. I didn't even know it's gender. That left... every other man I had met. Finding "The man from the other world's identity was not going to be easy, that was for sure.

I was in deep thought when Chara suddenly stopped in front of me. I focused back on my surroundings; we had reached the end of the cavern. "Shit," Chara said as she frantically looked around. After a little bit of panic, she turned to me. "It's a dead end." She sighed as she scratched her chin. "How will we get out now? We'd die from jumping that gap outside.

I gave her a little shrug. I was even more clueless than her. After looking at her think for a moment, I decided to inspect my surroundings more closely; maybe there was some sort of switch I could flip. It sounded like a ridiculous idea, but so did monsters living underground. I started examining the walls; it was hard to see, sure, but I'd be able to make out a switch. Even though I was feeling the walls, the task proved to be a complete waste of time. _Okay_ , I thought, making sure I would only hear it. _Maybe it's on the floor._ Almost like a baby would, I began crawling on all fours. It was far harder to see on the floor, so I only had touch to rely on. I kept feeling around and, right when I was about to give up, a cold, metallic object brushed my hand. I gripped onto the object, it certainly wasn't a switch. Feeling it was getting me nowhere, so I stood up with the object in hand to get a better look. It was a lot lighter than I was expecting as I lifted it up to my face. Just barely, I could make out the thin, bent frame of a pair of glasses. The cloudy, almost shattered lenses stared back at me. "Um... Chara?" The girl stepped away from her thoughts and turned to me. "I found these glasses."

Chara squinted at what was in my hand before her eyes lit up a little. "Oh! You found the Cloudy Glasses!" She stepped closer to me and took them out of my hand. She lightly inspected them. "I wonder what they're doing down here..." Her voice trailed off before coming back. "Anyways." She put them back in my hand. "If you put them on, it'll raise your DF."

I gave her a weird stare. "What now?"

She sighed. "It'll make you stronger, okay?" She faced a random direction away from me. "You clearly can't understand simple acronyms."

I was going to comment on what she said, but I decided it was best to say nothing. I quickly inspected the glasses, making sure they'd fit my head, then put them on. I don't even think the lenses worked because my vision didn't change at all. For a few seconds, nothing happened; I felt no different. Then, a little thought appeared in my head. _...Kate..._ I was a little surprised that I heard anything. My eyes noticed something. It's wasn't anything obvious, but something had ever so slightly changed. _I got... to find her_. The voice continued, louder than the last time. I noticed what had changed now; my vision had gained a slight hue of purple. My ears felt... hot. I put my hand up to them to confirm and the glasses' frame was... hot, not my ears. **_I got to find Kate!_** The voice suddenly shouted, making me jump. Most of my vision was filled with purple and the glasses were burning my skin. I quickly threw them off and onto the floor, then took a few steps back. My vision hadn't changed, the glasses were just glowing purple. Chara turned to them with wide eyes. "Well, that's never happened before."

The purple became brighter and brighter until it was an almost blinding white light. I didn't get a chance to shield my eyes before it all stopped. Once my eyes readjusted to the darkness of the room, a purple figure stood in front of me. Their body was in an almost identical state to Grace's, except they were purple instead of green. They resembled a boy around my age and had long hair, almost going past their ears. They wore glasses and their eyes were firmly shut. "Wow," Chara said. "I guess all souls are doing this now."

The boy's eyes slowly began to open. At first, he looked almost calm, but when his eyes locked on to mine, he jumped back with fear across his face. "Where the hell did you come from?!" he shouted at me.

I tilted my head and squinted at him. "I, umm," I pointed behind me. "I came from down there."

"No the hell you didn't! I was just looking down there!"

Chara shook her head. "You actually weren't." She pointed at the mostly broken glasses. "You came out of that."

His head tilted down before his eyes became wide. "My glasses?!" He darted back up to Chara. "How would I come out of my glasses?"

"Cause you're dead," Chara responded, as blunt as ever.

"Dead?" He stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head, a smile forming on his face. "No, no, no." He took a few steps back. "You two are just monsters trying to take my soul. You're trying to trick me using some sort of magic..." He suddenly stuck his finger up in a similar matter to Papyrus. "But it's not gonna work! I'm too smart to be fooled by silly little tricks!"

He gained a triumphant face, telling me he believed every word he said. I sighed, trying to come up with a way to prove that he was just a ghost. Eventually, something popped into my head. "Hey... purple dude." His eyes instantly looked at me. "Could you look at your body for a second?" He squinted at me but, surprisingly, he listened. Slowly, he moved his head down. When his eyes made contact with his chest, his jaw dropped. I imagined that if he was one of the skeleton brothers, it would have fallen off.

He kept staring in silence before his mouth eventually closed. His hand came up and rubbed his face. "N-no, I... I can't be dead." He looked back up, but not at me; he was more staring off in space. "If... if I'm dead, then that means... Kate is..." His head almost instantly went down as he finished. He began rubbing his eyes, a purple liquid appearing on the corners of them. "... oh no..."

I felt terrible as I watched the scene unravel in front of me, barely understanding what was happening. I had to do something; my brain just wouldn't let me watch someone break out in tears without trying to help. "Hey," I said, trying to put on my best smile. I got a little closer to him. "She might still be alive, you never really know."

The boy slowly looked up at me before a small grin appeared on his face. "Yeah..." He straightened his posture. "Yeah, okay. Maybe you're right."

Chara gave me a weird stare as I felt myself relax. Silence began filling the room as the purple boy just stared at me. "So..." My eyes darted to the side. "What's your name?" Before he could answer, I continued speaking. "I'm Jack..." My head nodded over in Chara's direction. "And that over there is Chara." She eyed me down with aggression behind her eyes as I finished; what's wrong with sharing her name?

He gave me a weird stare before his eyes got a little wide. He slightly shook his head. "Oh, my mistake." He did a little bow in a similar way a king's servant would do. "I'm William."

I couldn't help but smile. "Well William, you certainly have manners I'm lacking." I looked around the room for a moment before focusing back on him. "Welcome to the group, I guess." I felt surprise shoot through my face as I realized something. "Oh wait! There's someone you should meet." I raised my arm with the bracelet up to my face, still looking at Wiliam. "She might help you with the entire 'you're dead' thing." I watched William raise an eyebrow before my attention turned towards the bracelet. I stared at the little emerald heart and thought about it exploding, hoping it would signal to Grace to come out. When I saw her face in the heart, I knew I had succeeded. The heart snapped into tiny pieces before flying out in front of me. It began spinning really fast and then... POOF; Grace had appeared. It was so abrupt that it felt like a jump cut. I shook my head slightly before presenting her like she was a grand prize. "This is Grace!"

Grace's eyes darted around the room before making contact with William's. She nearly jumped up in excitement when she did. "Whoah!" she said as she rushed over to him. "Someone else is like me!"

William cringed as he slowly waved at the little girl. She attempted to stick her hand through him, but it stopped when it make contact with his skin. "Umm, hi?" he said as he backed away from her a little.

Grace scratched her chin. "So we can touch each other without trying..." Her smile got wide. "Cool!" She eliminated the distance William had added and stuck her hand out. "I'm Grace. Been dead for..." her eyes looked at the roof for a moment. "Give or take 200 years."

William relaxed a little as he returned the hand shake. "I'm William, but people usually call me Will." He sighed. "I don't know how long I've been dead for."

"That means that it's your first time waking up, then." She looked to the side for a moment before focusing her attention back on him. "Do you remember how you died?"

He shook his head. "No." His hand stuck out and pointed at the cavern we had come from. "The last thing I remember was looking down that hallway, then..." His head nodded over at us. "Those two appeared."

"Ah, amnesia too? Don't worry, it should fade." It stayed silent for a moment. "Well, don't you worry! You're in good hands!" Her eyes darted over to me with a smile on her face. "Jack is one of the nicest people I've met, and the other one..." She squinted at Chara, and in response, she rolled her eyes. "...I don't know about her..." She continued squinting at her for a few more seconds before shaking her head. "But, Jack wouldn't let anything happen to us, so we're fine!"

Will gave her an even more confused stare. "Umm, alright?" he said with a slight grin.

I approached the two when silence had entered the room, only taking a few steps forward. "So, umm, this'll sound a bit strange..." I rubbed the back of my head, still not quite sure how to phrase it. "How do I get him to stay with me?" _I really need to ask Chara the proper term._

Chara sighed as she leaned against a wall. _It's soul bonding_ , her voice echoed through my mind. I turned to her with wide eyes. _What? Did you think I could only read your thoughts or something?_ I continued staring at her until she eventually closed her eyes. "You _could_ just put on the glasses," she said aloud.

"He could..." Grace said before reaching down and picking up the cloudy glasses. She gave them a quick inspection. "But these things barely look wearable. It'd be far more comfortable the other way."

Will raised a finger like a student would when asking a question. "What's... what's the other way?"

She gave me a smirk before facing him. "You saw the bracelet I came out of, right?" I raised my hand up so he could get a better look at the loose string. He slowly nodded. "Well, that used to be a frying pan!"

His jaw once again almost fell off. "What?"

Her smile got even brighter. "Yeah! Since my soul is connected to it, I can make it do anything I want, really." She held the glasses in front of her. "I assume it's the same for you and these glasses."

Will have her a good, long stare, then rubbed his eyes. "Look, I may be dead, which that alone breaks a lot of the science I had learned, but I refuse the believe that I can change the matter of an object. I don't care how much magic you sprinkle on it, that just shouldn't be possible."

Chara shook her head before approaching the boy. "Well, could you at least try Mr. Scientist? I'd rather my partner be able to see two feet in front of them." He was about to say something (judging by his expression, it wouldn't have been pretty), but Chara thankfully continued talking. "Remember. We're helping you find your sister. The least you could do is try and make things easy on us."

He kept his mouth open for a few more seconds before sighing. "Fine." He turned to Grace. "So, what do I do?"

"Well, you just..." her voice trailed off as she scratched her chin. "I guess the best way to describe it is that you just... close your eyes, and imagine the object turning a piece of jewelry. That's what I did, at least."

He shook his head. "The entire thing sounds like a child's game," his eyes closed. "But I might as well give it a shot."

Grace smiled. "That's the spirit!" _Literally,_ I thought, not caring if Chara heard my masterfully crafted remark. She walked over and put the glasses in his hand. "But you might want to hold this since you've never done it before." Will nodded before she came over next to me. "Now try it!"

For a moment there, nothing was happening. I was worried the boy didn't know what she was talking about. It got to the point where Grace was about to head back over to him, then, like a light switch was flipped on, the glasses began glowing a bright purple. Grace took a few steps back, jumping up and down from excitement. I felt mesmerized as the glasses broke apart in an almost identical fashion to Grace's frying pan, although they were a lot smaller. The metal frame floated away from the lenses and began bending into some circular object. Then it suddenly grew in width, making it look like a ring of sorts. A black line went around the circumference and the metal appeared to be a stainless steel. To top everything off, the lenses came together and morphed into a sphere of sorts, changing into a solid purple, then floated next to the ring before firmly implanting itself into it.

The purple light disappeared as the ring fell into Will's hands. He slowly opened his eyes which became wide when he finally saw it. "Woah!" He said as he brought it up to his eyes. "I can't believe it actually worked!"

Grace smiled as she walked over to him. "Pretty cool, huh?" She let him inspect it for a bit before eventually turning to me. "Now just give it to Jack and you should be able to stick with us."

"Oh." He sounded a bit disappointed as he looked to me. "Alright."

He slowly walked over to me, almost like he was dragging himself along, and dropped the metal in my hands. It was a little heavier than expected, but still pretty light overall. "Sorry Will, wish you could keep it but..." I slide the ring on my index finger; it was a bit too tight for my ring finger. "It's kinda required I have it if you want us to find your sister."

He slightly nodded his head. "Yeah, I'm aware. Just wish I didn't make it look so cool."

A smile crept up on my face. "What?" I did a little pose, making sure the ring was entirely visible. "You don't want me to look fashionable?"

A giggle came from Grace while William gave me a... strange stare. I was about to say more when Chara walked past me, making me jump a little from the surprise. "Enough with the banter," she said, not even bothering to look back at us. "We got places to be and people to find."

Just before she would have begun walking down the man-made (or monster-made?) cavern, Grace spoke up. "Well, hold on lady." Chara followed her directions surprisingly well and stopped in her tracks. "There is one more thing Will should know."

Chara slowly looked back with a sigh. "What?"

She stared at her a little longer, then turned to Will with a wide smile. "Powers!" she said with excitement in her voice, jumping up and down.

Will raised an eyebrow. "Powers?"

Grace continued jumping up and down, but suddenly stopped. "Well, not really powers, but something close." She came over and presented my arm like it was a prize. "For instance..." A few seconds passed when my shield popped out without any of my input, which surprised me... to say the least. "Jack can have a shield anytime he or I wants." She returned to him. "I'm pretty sure you can do the same too."

"Umm... okay?" he said as silence filled the room. It stayed like that, the two of them just looking at each other, then he finally continued. "How do I do that?"

Grace shook her head. "Oh, I don't really know. You just kinda think about it and he should have it.

He looked even more confused but was seemingly trying to hide it. "Alright?" He turned to me. "I always really liked telekinesis, so..." He paused for a few moments before smiling. "You have it now?"

I stared at him for a few moments before looking around, almost like I expected something to be different. "How do I tell?" I asked.

"Just, try picking up one of the rocks with your mind, I guess."

Following his instructions, I turned to a random rock; it was quite big. For a moment, I just stared at it, not entirely sure what to think; it wasn't like I did this every day. Then, using what I did with Grace as a reference, I stuck my hand out in classic movie fashion and imagined it going up. Nothing happened at first, and it made me think I had done something wrong, but then I felt a slight shake in the ground. It got stronger and stronger the more I concentrated on the rock, then... a loud bang went through the cavern as the rock went flying into the ceiling. "Whoah!" I shouted as I put my hand back down. The rock went flying back to the ground in response, making the ground shake. "Guess I don't know my own strength."

Will had a bright smile while Grace looked impressed. No more celebration was held though because Chara stopped it before it began. "That's great and all, but could we go now? We aren't getting any younger."

I looked at the other two to see if they had anything to say, but, judging by the silence, they were out of words. Seeing as I didn't have anything to say, I walked after her; they were short to follow. Once we were all together, we began walking down the cavern and to the exit. Not much was said though, so it was quite a boring walk. When we finally exited the cavern and saw the blue and black surroundings once again, we were met with the same challenge as before. Chara sighed as she turned to the gap. "We still don't have a way across, do we?" She turned to us. "You guys see a way around?" Grace looked around while Will shook his head; I did the same.

I walked to the edge and glanced around. Nothing obvious was in sight, minus the ruined tower. I could see a bridge towards it in the not so far off distance, almost intact compared to where it lead. But, after seeing that figure, I had no intention of going anywhere near it. Which left us with nothing. Then my eyes lit up when I realized something; M _y telekinesis! I could move a boulder so it could act as a bridge_! I looked around my surroundings and, sure enough, a boulder sat firmly in the water. My hand went out and with nothing more than a glance, it began dragging itself over to us. It felt much heavier than the rock, but still easily movable. When it finally stopped in front of us, I spun around to the group. "Tada!" I said in an overdramatized pose, similar to what Papyrus would do. I made a "go forward" gesture with my hands. "After you."

Will was the first to go, his smile evident; Grace was shortly after, giddy with excitement. And, of course, Chara was the last. She looked at me. "Guess that power will be useful after all."

I nodded as I went across. "Well, all powers are useful, unless you consider turning into a zombie some sort of power." She shook her head before following after Will and Grace. I decided that it was best to do the same; wouldn't want another voice whispering at me.

The walk was filled with much more chatter than before. Stuff like Will's past and Grace teaching him what he's capable of. It was very informative, even for a non-ghost. Chara, on the other hand, stayed almost entirely silent throughout the walk. It almost startled me how cold she had gotten. Any attempts of having a conversation with her were met with a death stare. I just hoped that when we got back to Frisk, things get a lot better with her.; from the little she told me, it sounded like they were good friends. We ran into a few more of those gaps along the way, but they were solved easily now that I could pick things up with my mind. I always thought telekinesis was overrated, but now that I had it, I could see how cool of a power it was.

Will and Grace were still talking when Chara stopped in her tracks. I was confused, but then I realized why. We had reached a river. The liquid wasn't anything like the blue stuff we had been walking by. No. It was definitely water. The sound of it flooded my ears, calming me down. Chara looked around the room. "We're here."

Grace squinted at her. "What now?"

She looked back at her before sitting down on the ground. "We wait."

"Well, if that's the case..." She spun around and faced me. "I'll be going back to sleep." Her body began to break down and zoom onto my arm, just like before. She yawned as she rubbed her eyes, right before they broke down as well. "I'm exhausted."

I gave her a wave as the last of her body landed on my arm, forming that familiar heart. Will gave my arm a wide stare before looking at me. "How do I do that?"

I shrugged with a chuckle. "Do I look like a ghost to you?"

Chara looked back at us before he could answer. "Just think about going into the ring. It should work fine." Will stared at her for a second before sighing, closing his eyes in the process. A few seconds passed and, unlike the grand spectacle Grace offered, he simply vanished into thin air; no _POOF_ or cloud of dust, just nothing in the blink of an eye.

I stared at where he was, a little shocked. It took me a few seconds but I eventually shook my head. "Well, that was unexpected." I walked over next to Chara and plopped down as well, hanging my feet off the edge. "Why don't you give me my soul back and head to sleep? You look tired too."

She sighed as she faced me. "I'm not."

"Oh really?" I chuckled as I pointed at her eyes. "Those eyebags tell me otherwise."

She turned back to the river. "I can handle being tired."

I rubbed my face as I yawned. "Well I can't, and we share feelings, remember?"

She squinted at me from the corner of her eyes. "I never told you that. How do you know?"

"Felt you panic earlier." I put my body in a more comfortable position. "You thought we were lost.

Nothing was said for a few moments, then she once again sighed. "Okay, fine, I'm exhausted." She snapped her fingers and my soul came flying out of my chest; the missing pieces thankfully hadn't gotten any bigger. "Probably from dealing with you and the other two's bullshit." She made a few gestures in front of her chest before her half of my soul came out as well.

I shook my head. "What did we do that you'd classify as bullshit?"

Both pieces of my soul came up and hovered only inches away from each other. "You guys talked way too much." The pieces came together, once again forming my full soul, and floated back in front of me, Chara regaining her transparency from before. She gave me a small wave. "So goodnight."

Her body began disappearing, but not breaking down into pieces like Grace. "I mean, I'm not going to sleep, but goodnight." And with that, she had completely vanished. I turned to the river with only the sound of rushing water to accompany me. I prayed to whatever god was out there that nothing strange would happen and waited for god knows what to come along.


	17. Chapter 17

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Here's just a little message from me. This fic is far more popular on FFN; don't ask me why, it just is. Because of this, updating to FFN is my top priority. This sometimes leads to me forgetting to update it on here. I've been able to keep up with it thus far (for the most part), but if this fic goes without updates for a long period of time, check it out on FFN first before assuming it's dead. I have the same username and the story has the same name, so it should be easy to find. Alright, with that out of the way, enjoy the chapter!

I was still waiting when the sound of the rushing water changed only slightly, making me jump a little. It was like something was in the water. Then, as I was squinting at it in an attempt to see what I was hearing, a voice entered my ears. "... _la_ …" They sounded far away, making it so that I could barely hear them, but from what little I could make out, their gender sounded… undecided; almost like two voices, one male and one female, were talking in unison. "... _la la_..." It almost sounded like they were humming, but that was impossible; it was far too loud to be a hum. "... _la la la_ …" One thing was for sure. They were singing.

"Tra la la." The voice was close enough now that I knew what direction it was coming from. I poked my head out and looked to the right, almost falling off the edge when I saw it. A hooded figure stood on some sort of boat, their face completely covered with shadows. They sang a simple tune. "Tra la la." Over and over again. The boat they were on looked like a semi-normal one, but something was just off with it. The boat barely floated above the water, only a few more inches and it would be hovering, and there were no paddles despite how fast it was moving. I was unsure if the hooded figure had seen me when, just before they would've passed me, they came to a sudden halt. I jumped back from the surprise, them not even seeming to care. They sang one more little "Tra la la" before speaking. "I am the river man," the masculine part of their voice said, not even looking at me. "Or the river woman?" The feminine half said as they looked to the right. Their head went right back to looking straight ahead. "It doesn't really matter," both parts said in unison. Their boat slowly floated over to the edge I was standing on, they themselves never moving a muscle. "I love to ride in my boat. Would you care to join me?"

I looked at… the thing with a stare; it still refused to meet my gaze. "Why…" My voice trailed off from the confusion I was experiencing, but I tried my hardest to bring it back. "...why would I do that?"

A small chuckle came from them. "Why, I'll bring you anywhere you ask!" They had gained a sing-song voice. "Hot, cold, wet, it doesn't really matter. As long as there's a stream, you'll be there!"

I was still skeptical to hop on their boat after suck a creepy entrance. It felt almost like going into a stranger's van after being offered candy; that is to say, very stupid. "What's the catch?" I asked, taking a few steps back just to be sure.

"No catch! No payment! As long as I can hear the rushing water, you'll be there!" They stayed silent for a moment before looking to the right once again. "Unless, you want to stay here that is."

I was a little torn; they seemed to be my only ticket out of this place, and I knew that for a fact, but I wasn't sure if I could trust them. Unsure of what to do, I closed my eyes and focused on the locket I was wearing; I needed to ask her. After quickly imagining her coming out, I opened my eyes and there stood Chara, staring at me with heavy eyes. Her body was still transparent. She yawned before adjusting her posture. "What?"

I nodded over at the… river person. _Should I trust that thing?_ I asked through my thoughts; wouldn't want the thing thinking I was talking to it.

She glanced over at it before facing me. "Are you talking about them?" I sightly nodded. "Of course, dumbass! What else would you have been waiting on?" I felt like facepalming. I should have known that thing was what Chara had brought me over there for.

My finger went up like I had some bold explanation to tell. _I…_ But I didn't. I sighed, trying not to let her see my lack of reasoning; if I had just thought things through more, I would've not been as scared as I was. _Nevermind_. I turned to the river person. "Umm." I put one foot on their boat, Chara still watching from a distance. "I guess I'll hop on."

Once I put my other foot on there, they went back to looking straight forward. "Where will we be heading today?" The masculine half asked.

Chara joined me on the boat despite the fact that she could've just hovered next to me. "Say _Gerson's shop._ "

I gave her a weird stare, not entirely sure how to pronounce that name, but decided to attempt anyway. I faced the river person. "I guess I'll go to… Garysons shop?" Chara fully facepalmed as I finished.

There was a moment of silence from them. "Gerson's shop?" I nodded, realizing how wrong I said it. Somehow, without even looking at me, they knew I had nodded. "Then we're off!" Both voices said in unison as the boat began flowing down the river. Even if the hooded figure wasn't threatening, they were still very weird.

Chara sat down and hanged her feet over the edge of the boat; I'd do the same, but I felt I'd probably fall off. She shook her head. "How do you miss pronounce Gerson?" She said, more to herself than me.

 _Look,_ I thought to her. _I'm tired and in an unfamiliar place, wondering if my friend is dead, so I really couldn't care less about saying a name right_. As I finished, I realized just how tired I was. My legs felt weak and I struggled to keep my eyes open; how long had it been since I had slept?

She crossed her arms before sighing. "Whatever." Her sour attitude was getting to me, but I tried to push it away. Why was she being so rude to me?

I looked away from her and focused on the sounds around me. The rushing water flooded my ears, making my eyes just a little more heavy than they already were. It truly was relaxing. Maybe if I had Frisk near, I'd allow myself to fall asleep, but, obviously, that wasn't the case. It was only ten hours ago that Gaster was beating me to a bloody pulp, so it made perfect sense why I felt like I would pass out; I was honestly surprised it didn't happen sooner. Still, I had to keep myself awake. At the very least, I needed to find Frisk before collapsing

While I was still in thought, River Person's voice cut through my mind. "Tra la la," they sang. "The waters are wild today." There was a brief pause. "That's bad luck."

I gave them a strange stare as they acted like nothing was said. "Okay… what does that mean?"

I began to feel bumps go through the bottom of the boat; I guess the wild waters wanted to make themselves apparent. "You'll see soon enough!" They said in that sing-song voice of theirs.

I was too distracted by trying to keep myself from falling off the boat to decypher their cryptic message. It almost surprised me how quickly waves had appeared. That was one way to keep myself awake, I guess. I would've been panicking, but Chara's blank face told me I would be perfectly fine. Being stuck with a rude ghost made me realize how much I missed Frisk. The small conversations we had or the times where we'd take a break and she'd tell me about the previous timelines, maybe encounter a monster or two. Then again, it was strange how much I missed her. I hadn't even known her for that long; almost three days, and I didn't even know the name of her parents, but I missed her almost as much as Comet, or mom and dad. Just, something about her had drawn me in; she seemed to have that effect on people. Sans, Papyrus, Toriel, and all the random monsters along the way seemed to feel really close to her after only a conversation or two. Me on the other hand, not so much. Toriel was really the only one who cared for me. Sans seemed to tolerate me only because I was with Frisk, he was actually quite stern with me when we first met; Papyrus was only interested in me because of my species, and all the other monster's enjoyed Frisk's company far better. It kinda felt like I was Robin, and Frisk was Batman; her getting the bulk of attention while I got a few gazes here and there. Why was that? What about that girl drew people in like moths to a lamp? And, why was I starting to feel weird-

"We're here!" My thoughts were cut short by that strange voice. I looked around at my surroundings. We had reached another one of those edges, this time the floor resemble the blue stone from earlier. I gave the robed figure a short stare before stepping off their boat. "Come again some time, tra la la," they finished as my other foot made contact with the floor. I expected them to zoom off down the stream, but no. They just gently floated there, quietly singing their song.

I decided it was best to leave them be and spun around. A small hallway was carved out, leading to a doorway of sorts. Crystals hanging off the roof lit the way. Chara appeared next to me before walking down the hall. "Frisk should be close to reaching this place. We just gotta look around for her."

I felt a small smile creep on my face when she said that; no more silence or being ratted off for saying a word wrong. I quickly followed after the ghost. "Let's get looking then!"

Chara led us down the hall only to find out that there were two other paths. I could see one of those white blobs, or as Chara had told me, save points down to the left, while the right resembled the surroundings I just came from. Without any choice in the matter, she turned down the path with the blob. I kept up with her pace and, eventually, the blob stood right in front of me. It felt like ages since I touched one. I quickly shoved my hand in it and felt myself get rejuvenated in the process, along with that familiar feeling flooding my brain. I still wasn't entirely sure what they did, but I knew it made me feel a lot better; it even got rid of most of my tiredness.

I took a quick glance around my surroundings. The savepoint was floating just above a normal pod, three more paths in front of it. Behind me, there was a path leading to some sort of dumpster; I could make out trash piles taller than me. Surroundings almost identical to what I had left stood on my left, a duck looking monster dancing to nothing on the path. One of those gaps were in the path, leading to the familiar blue liquid. Chara looked around before leaning against a wall. "She should be here in maybe an hour. She might be slower though because of the entire 'she thinks your dead' thing."

"Yeah..." I went over and sat in front of the pond, the water was too shallow to dangle my feet over. "Hope that didn't mess her up too much."

Chara swiped at the air like she was pushing away such a thought. "She's fought literal eldritch gods. I'm pretty sure she's fine."

I was close to asking her about the "eldritch gods" part, but decided to pass; I didn't really want to know. After a few seconds of staring at her, I turned to the pond. My reflection stared back at me. It had been a while since I got a good look at myself. To cut it short, I looked like a train wreck. My face was covered in small little cuts and dirt, the big eyebags not helping either. My clothing was almost in tatters and the once light gray jacket I wore now resembled more of a black. I sighed before cupping some of the water in the pond and splashing my face with it. The eyebags were still there, but at least the dirt was gone. Plus, it gave me a quick jolt of energy. Looking at how disgusting I was made me curious what Frisk would look like; was she going to have ruined clothing as well, or look as perfect as she did before? _Perfect_... I thought to myself. _Is that really the best way to describe her_? Heat rose to my cheeks as images of her flashed through my head. _Yeah... Yeah, it is._

While I was still in the process of doing… _whatever it is I was_ … I heard a thud echo through my surroundings. My head instinctively jolted up and I glanced around, hoping to find the source; Chara seemed to be in the same boat, except she was frantically running around the room like the world was ending. A few more thuds went in my ear before they began going in a rhythmic pattern, almost like someone's footsteps. At that moment, Chara's eyes lit up. "Quick, Jack!" she yelled as she rushed over to me. "Cover all of your skin and zip up your jacket!" When I just gave her a blank stare, her eyes got a little wider. "Quickly! You might die if you don't!"

She had said it all so fast that it took me a few moments to process. Thankfully, my brain quickly got it and I followed her directions as fast as possible; zipping up my jacket, throwing on my hood, and shoving my hands in my pockets. I began to not only hear the thuds, but also feel them as I looked over to Chara. "Why?" I said under my breath, worried that whatever was causing the thuds would hear me.

She glanced around, then got really close to me. "Okay," she also said as a whisper even though I doubted anyone could hear her. "Don't freak out when I say this, but I think that might be Un-

She couldn't finish before a loud sigh echoed from behind me. I knew the voice. A few more thuds rumbled through me, stronger than ever, before suddenly stopping. "Oh..." A feminine voice trailed off. I heard her hair be scratched, most likely by herself, before she continued. "Wasn't expecting to see you here." _Does she recognize me_? I asked Chara through my thoughts for... obvious reasons.

She kept constantly looking at me, then her, speeding up with each glance. "I don't fucking know! Hopefully not!"

Silence filled the room for a few moments before a few more thuds told me she was moving closer. I held my breath begging for her not to know me and... "Don't think I've ever seen you around here before. What's your name, little dude?"

Chara let out a wave of air while I tried to process everything that happened. "U-umm..." I contemplated whether to be honest, then decided it didn't matter. "Jack. I-I'm Jack." I was having a surprising amount of difficulty not looking at her.

"Jack, huh?" She paused for a moment. "You probably already know me, but just in case, I'm Undyne." The thuds started up again, this time ending only a few feet to the left of me. A loud metal "CLANK" made me almost jump, my eyes darting over at it. It was the last face I saw before falling into the abyss, its eyes missing. Her helmet "You know, Jack." Undyne's body suddenly sat down, forcing me to look straight forward. Thankfully, she seemed taller than me, so she wasn't able to make out my face. "I was expecting today to feel a lot better."

I felt incredibly nervous mixed in with a bit of fright, but I had to say something. "W-why's that?"

Her feet, still covered in thick armor, went into the pond. "I did the thing I was trained to do since I was a little girl... kill a human."

A frown instantly went across my face; _she couldn't be talking about... Frisk... right_? I felt a little water in my eyes as they darted around the floor. "... oh no..." was all I could say.

"Yep. That was my same reaction. I was expecting to feel happy, but no." Her armor creaked as she looked up at the ceiling. "Just felt like I killed a kid." My sadness would've been replaced by anger, but they didn't give me a chance as they continued. "What sucks even worse is that I can't get their soul, making their death pointless. "

My sorrow was cut short as I processed what she said. "What? How?"

Another loud sigh came from her. "They had some sort of magic and when they used it, it kinda startled me, so I let them go; I've been told humans have no magic." She looked to the side. "They fell into The Abyss, and I'm afraid I won't be coming out if I jump down there."

I felt like crying tears of joy; _she was talking about me_! Despite that, I tried my best to keep my cool as I sightly faced her, not enough for her to see me though. "That sucks."

"I know, died for no reason." It stayed silent for a moment. "They had this girl with them, and it looked like he really cared for her; nearly lost an arm trying to block my spears from hitting her!" I heard her get up and watched her helmet be picked up. "I promised him I'd keep her alive if he died, but..." The thuds started up again, this time heading away from me. "We still need a soul."

There were a few more thuds before one loud one echoed through the surroundings, then it grew silent. Chara glanced at where she had walked before looking back at me. "Thank god," she said as she released a big breath of air. "She's gone."

I looked around before jumping up, brushing off my jacket. "That might have been the scariest thing that I've ever experienced."

"It should be! Your soul would've been ripped out in the blink of an eye if she knew who she was talking to."

I took off my hood. "Oh, believe me. I was perfectly aware of that." Silence filled the area as I adjusted my body; hope I don't run into her again. As I unzipped my jacket, I looked to Chara. "So, when's Frisk gonna-" My sentence was cut short as I felt a buzzing in my pocket; it was the phone Toriel had given me. The last time it had rang was when Toriel had called me in the Ruins. Shocked to hear it go off at all, I pulled it out, flipped it open, and put it to my ear. "H-hello?"

"Human!" A familiar voice shouted, making my ear ring from their volume. I quickly brought it away from my ear so I wouldn't go death. "This Is Papyrus Speaking!" His voice was still incredibly loud.

I rubbed my ear. "Yeah, I could tell." I gave it a few moments so that it could stop ringing, then continued. "How'd you get this number?"

"Well, It Was Simple! I Dialed Every Possible Number Combination Until I Heard Your Voice!"

"Really?" Papyrus's dedication to… well, everything, was surprising. "You know you could have asked Toriel for my number, right?"

I heard his bones rattle as he shuffled around. "Yes, But! She Was In Snowdin, And I Had To Quickly Call You! Walking All The Way Back To My House Would Have Taken Far Too Long."

"Well, how long did it take you to call me through your method?"

"Exactly Seven Hours!"

I squinted at the phone. " _How does tha_ t…" My voice trailed off. "You know what? Nevermind." I took a deep breath in an attempt to push away my confusion. "Why did you call me?"

"I Just Wanted To Let You Know That a Friend Of Mine Is Currently Searching For You, And Their Intentions Are Quite… Murdery, If They Find You. But, Fear Not! I Am Currently On My Way To You!" There was a brief pause. "Where Exactly Are You?

I sighed as I looked around my surroundings. "Just outside of Gerson's shop," I said, making sure to say the name correctly.

"Perfect! I Will Be There In Five Minutes!" And with that, a loud ringing came from the phone, telling me he had hung up.

I slowly put the phone up as Chara sighed. "Guess we're dealing with that bone head now.":

My eyes darted over to her. "What? Do you not like Papyrus?"

She shook her head. "It's not that I don't like him, he can just be…" She looked to the side. "Frustrating." I couldn't get a word out before I heard stomping coming from behind me. Turning around greeted me with Papyrus full on sprinting towards me. "That sure as hell wasn't five minutes," Chara let out as she plopped down on the ground.

He kept running until he got a few feet in front of me, coming to a sudden halt. "Worry Not, Jack!" he shouted, not even showing any signs of exhaustion; then again, he didn't have lungs. Part of me really missed that voice. He looked to the side and gained his classic heroic pose, his red scarf blowing in the wind. "I, The Great Papyrus, Both Your Friend And Mentor, Am Here to Save You!"

I smiled as I looked up at the skeleton. "When did you become my mentor?"

He gained a flabbergasted expression, shocked that I'd even ask such a question. "Why, I Have Been From the Start, Slowly Introducing You to Monsterkind!"

Chara shrugged. "I mean, he's not wrong."

Before the conversation continued, another pair of stomping feet, albeit far smaller, came from behind Papyrus. Because of his height, I couldn't see what was approaching. "Papyrus!" A familiar voice shouted, making my jaw drop. The footsteps kept getting closer before stopping right next to Papyrus, revealing who they were. It was Frisk. Her clothing had some tears and looked a bit dirtier, but overall, she was just as perfect as before. She looked up at the skeleton, not even noticing me. "Where the hell are you-" she suddenly stopped when she glanced over at me. Her eyes got wide as she took a few steps back. "... J-Jack?"


	18. Reunion

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One little thing from me. This is being turned into a game! More details can be found on the FFN version, but all you need to know is that I'm almost done with the demon, which goes to Snowdin. Don't worry; I'll make sure to put a link up here when it does eventually release. Not anytime soon though cause I got a lot of stuff to do in Snowdin, including the things I skipped in the fic. Alright, enjoy the chapter

She seemed shocked down to her core, every part of her body shaking. It was understandable though; she probably thought I was dead. I swear I even saw a little water in her eyes, making me feel terrible. Instead of just standing there silently while Papyrus looked at both of us, I decided to fill the silence. I did a small wave, trying my best to smile. "Hey, Frisk." I said with a smile; I really missed saying that name. "Long time no see."

Chara walked over next to me and squinted at Frisk. "Huh," she said as she rubbed her chin. "She really got attached to you." I looked over at her, about to say something, but the moment I blinked I felt a strong force hit me in the chest. I looked over and realized that Frisk was hugging me. Normally, she wrapped her arms around my back, but this time she went straight to holding my neck, almost too short to do it. Chara circled around us as Frisk held me… very tight. "It's almost worrying how much she cares for you."

I felt my cheeks get red, which was to be expected, but I wasn't prepared for how I felt. It was a good mixture of anxiety and pure bliss, almost like someone had come and punched me in the gut, then kissed me. My stomach almost cramped from how much anxiety was behind it. "I t-thought you were dead," Frisk said under her uneasy breath. A little bit of guilt stung me in my head as I wrapped my arms around her; I just did it the same way I always did. I had made her worry so much, so the least I could do is hold her for a bit.

"Yeah," I said. I closed my eyes, finally at peace. I felt like I'd pass out at any second, not being able to tell if it was because of the feeling or the fact that I was genuinely exhausted. "I did too." Then there was just silence. Well, that is if you don't count the light sobbings from Frisk. It may have sounded messed up, but the hug felt really good. I felt bad for Frisk, but feeling her hold me would've put a smile on my face if I let it; of course, I didn't. On top of that, my cheeks were probably brighter than a red giant. Guilt was still sunken in my stomach from everything, but Frisk's hug kinda threw it away from me. It was kinda like how I felt when me and Comet stared out at the sunset; blissful. Just like what happened with Comet, it didn't last long. This time though, it wasn't replaced with anything bad.

We were still hugging when another pair of arms wrapped around me, far stronger than Frisk. She looked a little surprised as I was slowly picked up off the ground. Once I was at least 4 feet high, it felt like a bear had begun to squeeze me. "THIS IS SO SWEET!" Papyrus shouted in my ear, his voice filled with what you'd assume was an overexaggerated sadness. I looked back at the skeleton; somehow, he was crying. Well, crying was underselling it. It was more like waterfalls were coming out of his eyes, or eyesockets, I guess. "I JUST HAD TO HUG YOU TOO!" His voice sounded louder over the phone, but it still made my ears ring.

Papyrus's tears continued to pour out at record speeds. There was so much that my clothes were starting to feel wet. I reached back and pat the skeleton's shoulder. "Umm… there there Papyrus?" I really missed his silly antics, but right then probably wasn't the best time. Still, I smiled a little, albeit mostly from awkwardness.

Eventually, the skeleton put me down, wiping his eyes once I finally touched the floor. "I'M SORRY," he said with a sniffle as he looked away from me. His eyes shut, rubbing his face in the process. "I MUST NOT LET YOU SEE ME IN SUCH A VULNERABLE STATE."

I dusted my clothes off. "Eh, it's fine." My head went up to the skeleton. "I've seen way worse reactions."

His eyes shot open, facing me once more. "REALLY?" I nodded. He wiped off the invisible sweat from his forehead. "THANK GOODNESS! IT'D BE A SHAME IF YOU WERE CONVINCED YOUR MENTOR WAS SOME SORT OF CRYBABY, WHEN, IN FACT, HE IS A GREAT, BRAVE, SOON TO BE ROYAL GUARDSMAN!" He stayed silent for a moment before shaking his head. "WHAT AM I TALKING ABOUT? YOU'D NEVER THINK SOMEONE AS GREAT AS MYSELF WOULD BE A CRYBABY. I AM FOOLISH FOR EVEN CONVINCING MYSELF THAT!"

I couldn't help but smile at the skeleton. "Sure, Papyrus." Papyrus let out what I can only assume to be a sigh of relief as I turned to Frisk. She wiped her eyes, still wet from our hug, a smile on her face as well; it'd be hard to find someone who didn't find Papyrus smile-worthy. Well, that was actually a lie. I had a dead girl standing next to me who was doing exactly that. I shook my head, trying to focus back on reality. Frisk had approached me, her smile even wider than before. I relaxed my posture as I thought of something to say. "So, how was Waterfall? I would've loved to join you but, you know, I was stuck in the abyss and all that."

She shrugged. "Same as always. Undyne was a bit slower while chasing me, but that's about it." Silence entered for a moment before she jumped. "Oh!" She pointed behind her with her thumb. "And I didn't have to fight that dummy in the dumpster." I looked behind her only to see a scratched up dummy sitting next to a pile of trash. I raised my eyebrow, about to ask about it… "It's possessed by a ghost." but she got her words out first.

"Oh." I should've expected something like that.

"What about you? Run into anything interesting down there?"

I didn't say anything for a second before scratching my neck. "Well, there was this area that had these huge towers sticking out of some sort of blue liquid. The grass was balck and there were these blue flowers that started talking to me-"

While I was still in the process of talking, Chara stepped between us. "Tell her about my locket," she said with her arms crossed.

I gave a stare for interrupting my conversation before looking back to Frisk. I jingled around the locket with my hand. "And I also found this thing. Pretty cool piece of jewelry, huh?" I made the conscious decision to avoid telling her about Chara; _maybe another time_.

Chara clearly didn't like that. "Oh, fuck you! You know that's what I wanted you to tell her!"

I glanced over at her as she paced around. _She's still recovering from the shock of me not being dead. Telling her about you might just push her a little too far._ Frisk squinted at the locket. "Huh. Wasn't expecting to see that so early." She stared at it for a few more moments before shrugging. "Oh well. Just one of the many things that are different."

Chara sighed as she stopped in front of me, eyes closed. "I guess you're right." Her finger suddenly went in my face, her red orbs piercing my soul. "But you better tell her soon."

Her attitude had gotten a lot more vulgar, and I'd be lying if I said it wasn't getting to me. I stared at her for a moment. _You're a real moody bitch sometimes, you know that?_

She stuck her middle finger out as she walked away. "Fuck you."

I smirked as I focused back on reality; _guess I hit a nerve_. My mind searched for something to say as a progressively louder quiet filled the room. I cringed as I thought of my question. "So…" I said as I looked to the side, scratching my neck. "How did-" I made finger quotes. "'-my death' affect you?" It was just a must-ask question. My brain didn't really care though considering I felt guilty for it.

Her eyes widened a bit. "Oh, uh… well…" She gained a smile, but her eyes didn't replicate the action, instead being replaced by sorrow as they faced away from me. "If I'm being honest, it messed me up. Like, really bad." A sigh escaped her mouth. "It was on my mind the entire time, and even when I was about to die, I still could only think fg it.." She let out a quiet chuckle, her eyes closing. "I sometimes just sat down and… started crying. I guess it was a delayed reaction." And that **_really_ **hit me in the gut; felt like I was about to fall on my knees from it. If I had just been a little faster, dodged a few more spears, I could have saved her so much sorrow. But I didn't. I failed her with the snap of a finger and made her life that much harder. That was just who I was, I guess. A fail- "But," Frisk's voice cut through my thoughts. She walked even closer to me, maybe only half an arm's length apart, reached down and did something that kinda shocked me. She grabbed my hand. "You're here now, alive and well." A genuine smile went across her face as she intertwined her fingers around mine. "And I couldn't be more happy."

Boy oh boy did that shift my thoughts. My mind was scrambling for something to say as my cheeks began to feel as if they were on fire. If I was an anime character, I'd be passed out on the floor from how much blood would be pouring through my nose. Hell, even in reality, I felt like I'd pass out just from the shock of it. I eventually found something to say, now I just needed to pronounce it. "W-w-w-well I-I'm g-g-glad to hear t-that." And, of course, I even failed at doing that. I noticed Frisk's cheeks had gained some redness, but it was probably nothing compared to mine. I raised up my hand, having no choice but to do the same to Frisk's; she had a really tight grip on it. "W-why are you h-holding my hand?" I asked, slightly more calm. And when I say slightly, I mean _slightly_.

She shrugged, her cheeks getting a little redder. "Don't know really. Guess I kinda just felt the need to do it." She paused for a moment before a small frown appeared on her face. "Why do you ask? Does it make you uncomfortable?"

That is certainly not the response I wanted. While I did feel slightly uncomfortable, I much rather preferred her to continue holding it. I tried to process something to say. "W-w-well-"

She chuckled lightly, gaining a smile in the process. "It's okay Jack!" Her grip began progressively loosening. "You shouldn't feel scared to tell me you don't like something."

I quickly tightened my hold around her hand as fast as I could. "No!" Don't let go!" I nearly shouted. Silence filled the room the moment I finished. Frisk sat completely motionless, blinking a few times at me. I coughed a few times into my arm. "I-I mean, uh… I actually really like it," I was finally able to let out. "It just surprised me, is all." That was one way to say it. Throughout our entire friendship, Comet had never held my hand. I mean, it made sense, it would've felt really weird. For some reason though, I didn't mind with Frisk. It sure as hell felt strange, but I kinda liked it.

She looked away from me, her cheeks getting even redder. "Oh, ok." I slowly brought our hands down. "I guess we'll keep doing it then.

Chara stared at the two of us from a distance, disgust across her entire face. Papyrus, on the other hand, looked like he was about to melt from how strong of an "awww" face he had. She rubbed her eyes. "What the fuck am I staring at?" She walked over to us as Frisk stared at the ground, periodically looking up at me. She gave her a good long look in the eyes. "Did you hypnotize her? I've never seen her act like this."

I glanced over at her. _If you think this isn't a surprise to me too, you are very wrong._

She came over to me and started to inspect my body. "I don't know." Surprisingly, a smirk went across her face; that was the last thing I expected. "You seem to be enjoying… whatever this is."

I felt as stiff as a lamp post as I stood there. I mean, what was I supposed to do? My hand holding had been limited to my Mom, and I doubted that was a good reference. _Shut up_. I said as my cheeks got a little hotter.

After a few more moments of us standing there semi-awkwardly, a voice entered my ears. "AS MUCH AS I'D HATE TO END THIS…" Papyrus's voice suddenly came from my left, making me jump back. Normally, it wasn't a big deal, but because I was holding Frisk's hand, she came with me. Somehow, most likely because of the surprise, Frisk began falling to the floor, bringing me with her. We both landed on our asses a few feet from each other, our hands still intertwined.

Frisk stared at me with wide eyes and I slowly did the same. A few seconds passed of us staring before we both quickly burst out into laughter. She pushed on my shoulder lightly with her free hand. "You're scared so easily!" she said mid-laugh as she stood up.

She helped pull me off the floor as I dusted myself off. "I know, I know." I scratched my neck, noticing her hands hovering next to mine; I guess she let go. But, that didn't last long because the moment I was done adjusting, she went right back to holding it. I stared at it for a few moments before meeting her gaze. "It's not everyday that I hold someone's hand though, you know?" A small frown went across her face as I quickly realized how what I said sounded. "It's not like I don't like it! It's just that… I gotta get used to it."

Thankfully, that seemed to fix any damage I had caused as she giggled, her cheeks returning to being red. "Yeah," She said, her smile returning. She was silent for a few more seconds before looking up at the huge skeleton in front of us. His "awww" face had returned. "Anyway, what were you saying Papyrus?"

Papyrus held the face for another moment, then shook his head. "Right!" He shouted as he came back to reality. "I WAS GOING TO SAY THAT MY FRIEND WITH… MURDEROUS INTENTIONS... LIVES-" He pointed at a house I hadn't noticed before. It kinda resembled a piranha. The two eye looking things seemed to be windows, the door being a mouth, and its outside was painted in such a way that it resembled scales. "-RIGHT THERE, AND I FEEL THAT, IF SHE WERE TO SEE YOU…" He cringed slightly. "IT WOULD NOT END WELL."

I looked over at the house as my eyes widened with realization. "Ooh!" I said as I put the pieces together. "That's why she was over here!"

Frisk turned to me with a raised eyebrow. "She?" There was a moment of silence before her eyes also widened. "You saw Undyne?"

I nodded my head. "Yeah," I said like it was no big deal. "It was a little nerve wracking, but I'm all good."

She continued to stare at me with the same expression. "How the hell are you alive?"

"Well..." I proceeded to do everything I had done when hiding from Undyne, including zipping up my jacket and throwing the hood on. "I covered all of my skin and didn't look at her. Somehow it worked and she just thought I was a random monster." I shivered as I thought about what could have happened. "It was really close though."

Frisk looked almost disgusted as I finished my sentence; applaud might have been a better description though. "So, wait. You're telling me that if I just wore some random jacket and covered my skin, I would've never been chased by Undyne?" I nodded. She looked down at her chest and pulled at her blue and purple shirt; the jacket she wore to Snowdin was nowhere in sight, so she probably ditched it unlike me. "I should really start wearing less memorable colors then."

Papyrus's jaw was close to falling off, its hinges loose, but hadn't quite yet. "So Undyne Didn't Attack You?"

I rolled my shoulders. "Well, she didn't, but I'm pretty sure she would have if she knew who I was."

Papyrus rubbed his chin, pushing his jaw back in place as he did. "HMMM… I DIDN'T THINK UNDYNE WOULD BE FOOLED SO EASILY..." There was a moment of silence as he considered his next words. His finger suddenly shot into the air, once again making me jump; it was far less than before though and thankfully didn't cause anyone to fall down. "OKAY HUMANS, I HAVE DEVELOPED A MASTERFUL PLAN!" The still out index finger pointed at me. "JACK! YOU WILL CONTINUE TO DO WHAT YOU ARE DOING RIGHT NOW, HIDING YOUR HANDS IF AND WHEN WE RUN INTO UNDYNE!" He turned to Frisk. "FRISK! YOU WILL SIMPLY DO THE SAME!" Then his finger went to his chest. "AND I, THE GREAT PAPYRUS-" He slowly put his hands on his hips as his scarf flew in the wind which, keep in mind, didn't exist until he did so. "WILL, IF UNDYNE STUMBLES UPON US, SIMPLY SAY I AM ESCORTING BOTH OF YOU TO SAFE PERIMETERS, AS A TRUE ROYAL GUARDSMAN WOULD DO!"

Frisk scratched the back of her head. "That's actually a really good plan Papyrus-" She poked her head out around him so he could see it. "But I lost my jacket."

He looked down at her, then faced the room with piles of trash. "WELL, THE DUMP IS RIGHT THERE. I DOUBT YOU WON'T FIND SOMETHING IN THERE IF MY LAZYBONES BROTHER WAS ABLE TO!"

Chara looked a little taken aback. "That's where Sans got his jacket?" She looked to the floor. "Huh. I always thought he just… I don't know. Appeared with it, I guess?"

I, on the other hand, probably looked more disgusted than anything. _They get their clothing from piles of trash?_ I shivered in horror as I thought about all the clothes I had thrown out. _People never get rid of their clothes for a good reason._

Frisk smiled as she turned to the dump. "You're filled with good ideas today, Papyrus." She gestured to him to follow before walking forward, dragging me along with her tight grip. "Let's get looking then!"

And that we did, searching through stacks of trash like it was piles of gold coins. Thankfully, it seemed to be things that were mostly solid; manhandling squishy, expired food certainly was not on my bucket list. Me and her occasionally let go of each other to dig through a few piles of trash, but we always ended up going right back to holding hands. I honestly never thought I'd hold hands with someone any time soon, let alone only a few days after I had met them. If it was anyone else, I'd most likely protest, but since it was Frisk… I guess it just felt right. Still, even with that in mind, I felt pretty uncomfortable. My gut was aching and my cheeks kept on getting hotter with no signs of slowing down. If I'm completely honest, I almost let go because of how my stomach was feeling. But then, there was the part of me that enjoyed everything and could deal with all of it as long as I stayed next to her. And that part ended up winning, so we kept holding hands. We did eventually find her that jacket. It was nothing too out of the ordinary; just a plain purple one with some cuts in the fabric here or there. One problem though. It didn't fit her at all.

I almost laughed as Frisk swayed her arms around. The sleeves were almost twice her arm length and the rest of it was comparable to a kid wearing their parent's clothes. Still, she zipped it up. She did a little pose, sticking her hip out, as me and Papyrus watched. "How do I look?

I tilted my head as I inspected her body. "Like you put on Toriel's robe." She giggled slightly before pulling up her sleeves. I faced Papyrus. He was the one who ended up telling us to stop looking. "Are you sure that's the best one we can find?"

"WHY, BUT OF COURSE JACK!" He rubbed his chin, staring at Frisk while she tried to put the hood on; whenever she did, it went over her entire face instead of just the head. "IT WOULD EVEN BE BETTER IF YOU HAD A JACKET AS BIG AS THAT."

I raised my eyebrow, mostly from surprise. "Why's that?"

Papyrus put a hand on my shoulder and gestured out at her, pulling me closer to him as he did. "LOOK AT HER, JACK! IT'S PERFECT!"Frisk blindly stumbled around as he said that, the hood still very much covering her face. Eventually, she ended up tripping on a piece of trash. "IF I DIDN'T KNOW THAT WAS FRISK, I WOULD HAVE NO IDEA SHE WAS A HUMAN!"

Frisk looked up at the skeleton as she brushed away her hood. "Wait, really?"

He jolted up. "REALLY!" He went over to Frisk and showed off her arms and face. "ALL OF YOUR SKIN IS COMPLETELY COVERED."

I walked over to her as well, surprised to see that he was right; not even her hands were visible. "Huh. You're right."

Chara got off the wall she had been leaning on. "That's the biggest surprise here!" she let out in a joking tone.

He did his little pose, confidence flowing over his face. "JUST ANOTHER ACT OF GENIUS FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!" He said with a little "Nyeh" near the end. He suddenly spun around and began walking, no, stomping out of the dump, gesturing for us to follow. "NOW COME ALONG HUMANS! WE WON'T GET OUT OF WATERFALL FROM JUST LOLLYGAGGING ABOUT."

I looked over at Frisk and she did a shrug in response. "He's got a point." She reached over and grabbed my hand, most of her sleeve covered it, then began following in his footsteps. I didn't have much of a choice but to follow after her.

Chara looked at me as we walked out. It was strange too. She was completely motionless, like a statue, only her eyes following me. Even stranger, her eyes weren't red; they were black. And that's when it hit me. That wasn't Chara. No, the real Chara was still right behind me. The thing gave me a little smirk as I took my first step out of the dump. "See you soon…" Its body began to flicker, slowly revealing what I had called the demon. "Jack." Then, with the blink of an eye, it was gone. Chara's expression told me she had not seen it. I guess what it said was true. I was it's "blessing" alone.


	19. Amsey

I continued staring at where they were. It was just... too much. I couldn't understand why they latched on to me; I wasn't something special, or some powerful being. I was just a boy. A boy who was terrified. What did they want with me? Well, those questions were never answered as Frisk stopping in her tracks yanked me back to reality. I must have stopped walking when I began thinking because I had made no distance from the dump. "You okay Jack?" she asked, confirming my suspicions.

I slowly looked over at her only to see her worried face. My ears began ringing as I shook my head. "Yeah." I stood there for a few more seconds before following after Papyrus who hadn't stopped strolling along. I tugged Frisk along with me, almost forgetting that our hands were smushed together. "Just-" What happened with Chara and Grace flashed through my head; I had to use a better excuse. "I, umm..." Nothing came to mind as Frisk gained a progressively more suspicious face.

Chara walked up next to me, her arms crossed. "Look, Jack. I don't even know what you're hiding; you've made sure of that." Her eyes glanced to the floor. "But, just remember this." She walked up to me and put a hand on my shoulder, a deep breath escaping her. "You can't hide your demons forever, especially with the ones you're close to," she said as she looked to the side. "Believe me, I tried."

Her sudden shift from vulgar to more of a somber attitude kinda surprised me, but I didn't have long to think about it. I knew she was right. One way or another, Frisk would find out about it. Hell, she already knew some of it. But, I wasn't in the right state of mind then, and neither was her; after all, she was still getting over the fact that I didn't die. _Maybe… maybe another day_ , I quietly thought. She shook her head before stepping away. Realizing that Frisk was still expecting me to finish my sentence, I frantically looked around for something to change the conversation, and when I saw that red scarf, I knew exactly what. I ran up to Papyrus, still holding Frisk's hand. "Hey, Papyrus!" The skeleton looked back at me but never stopped in his tracks. "Where'd you even go earlier?" I'm surprised I didn't ask that sooner.

The skeleton briefly froze mid-step, most likely pondering what to say, then quickly returned to walking along. "WELL JACK, IT'S SIMPLE!" I could see his overdramatic expression from a mile away. "I RAN TO UNDYNE AS FAST AS I COULD, ALMOST LATE TO OUR MEETING, AND GAVE HER MY FULL REPORT ON HOW THE POPULAR, BRAVE PAPYRUS BEFRIENDED THE LONELY HUMANS." A cringe crept up on his face. "SHE WAS... NOT HAPPY, TO PUT IT LIGHTLY, THAT I FAILED TO CAPTURE YOU. SO, IN ORDER TO CALM HER DOWN, I TOLD HER YOU TWO WERE IN THE PLACE NO ONE IN WATERFALL WOULD EVER DREAM OF VISITING! YET ANOTHER STROKE OF GENIUS FROM THE GREAT PAPYRUS!"

Frisk squinted at the skeleton, fully immersed in the new conversation. Thank god it worked. "Where did you end up sending her? She found us basically a few seconds after we left Sans."

Papyrus rubbed his chin for a moment, then his finger suddenly shot up. "WHY, THE CORRIDOR WITH THE DEADLY WATERFALLS, OF COURSE! EVERYONE KNOWS HOW DANGEROUS THAT ROOM IS!"

She nodded her head as she looked to the floor. "That explains why she found us." She seemed less surprised than I was, almost like she was expecting it. A yawn began to come out of her before she tried to wave it away. "You know where the nearest hotel is, Papyrus?"

He almost jumped up as she finished. "YES, ACTUALLY! VERY CLOSE TO HERE. A SMALL TOWN CALLED AMSEY, JUST DOWN THE ROAD FROM TEMMIE VILLAGE!"

Now that was a name I had never heard of before. "Temmie village?" Well, also Amsey, but Temmie Villiage sounded far more interesting.

Frisk looked like she was about to explain when Papyrus continued. "OH YES, HOW COULD I FORGET? THE TWO OF YOU HAVE NO IDEA WHERE ANYTHING IS!" He did a little cough into his hand. "TEMMIE VILLAGE IS A VILLAGE THAT JUST... POPPED INTO EXISTENCE ONE DAY. THE CREATURES THAT LIVE THERE HAVE AN ABSTRACT VIEW ON THEIR PAST. THEY ARE... VERY STRANGE." There was a moment of silence. "SOMETIMES, IF YOU STAND NEXT TO THEM LONG ENOUGH, THEIR FACES WILL BEGIN TO HOVER OFF THEIR BODIES." He gained a far bigger grin than he already had. "BUT THEY SIMPLY ADORE MY SPAGHETTI, SO THEIR SMALL ANNOYANCES DO NOT PHASE ME."

When Frisk saw that he was done talking, she raised an eyebrow. "What about this Amsey? I've never seen it on any map before."

I quickly remembered what she meant when she said "map." So she's never seen it in any other reset before? I thought to Chara.

She nodded. "Yep. Out of all the years I lived here, I don't even know what it is." It didn't help that I had no idea just how long "all the years" was, but I shrugged it off

"AMSEY IS..." The skeleton's voice trailed off before he rubbed his chin. "STRANGE," he said with a "hmmm" tone. "I DO NOT REMEMBER WHAT IT LOOKS LIKE." His finger shot up once again. "NO MATTER! AS LONG AS I KNOW WHERE IT IS, WE WILL BE FINE!"

I nodded my head. "Alright then." I faced Frisk. "How long until we get to Temmie Village?"

Her eyes tried to look inside her skull as she did the math. "Not long. Maybe…" she looked at the ceiling for a few seconds before continuing. "30 minutes, I think?"

I felt my increasingly fatigued muscles ache as my eyes began getting heavy again. "As long as a bed has my name on it there, I'll walk a little longer."

And so, we walked. We passed by Gerson's shop before going down the path I hadn't been yet. We walked into a room that was suspiciously similar to the one where Undyne attacked us, albeit the streams were far slower. Thankfully, there was no strong fish lady to throw me over the edge. It resembled a hall and was incredibly long, most likely taking up the entirety of our walk. Unlike the other room though, panels of text sat on the right, and the only, wall. From what little I could make out, the language was one I could not understand. It almost looked like hieroglyphics. Thankfully though, Chara could understand it just fine. The fact that she knew the language gave me enough evidence that she had lived down there for a while. She quickly read the text while I intently listened. Something about a war between monsters and humans. I don't know, it was confusing. I seemed to be missing a big part of the story. It repeated much of what Sans told me about, requiring seven human souls to break "The Barrier." As we reached the end of the corridor, Chara read the last line, leaving me with a pit in my stomach and a strong frown. "We will remain trapped down here forever."

Pushing the feelings away, Papyrus had brought us to a room where the walls and floors weren't visible, the only thing in sight being a dark mushroom a few feet in front of us. The skeleton looked confused, but when Frisk went up and patted the mushroom, he seemed to realize what he should do. The moment she did that, blue-ish grass lit up beneath us, almost like it was a light switch. The mushroom lit up as well, revealing its blue spots. Grass just vaguely carved out a path, it only lit up two though. One led to the right, while the other would've brought us back to where we came from. Instead of walking on either, Papyrus took a sharp left before stomping out. Magically, he did not run into a solid wall of stone and continued marching along. Frisk looked unphased as she went over and grabbed my hand before following after him. When Papyrus took another sharp left, Frisk finally began to look shocked, far more than I was. She dragged her hands across the almost invisible walls, mouth wide open while we followed him. From then on, we just walked in a solid straight line.

After give or take five minutes and a few yawns, Papyrus had stopped in his tracks. "WELCOME TO AMSEY!" he shouted as he presented… a city?

Rivers of that blue liquid surrounded it, the talking flowers sprouting out of the floor repeating some kind of Jazz, I think. Sky scrappers shot to the ceiling of the cave, almost as tall as the ones on the surface, their interiors glowing blue. Smaller buildings with neon-like signs sat next to them. Roads were leading across all of what I could see, big snails with saddles on top of them acting like cars. There were blue, glowing, fire-like bugs were stuck in bottles, hanging off of metal poles; I assumed they were meant to be street lights. Monsters of varying sizes strolled down the sidewalks, most appearing to have some form of scales on their body. To top it all off, the city far outstretched my field of view and left me almost speechless. Frisk looked about the same and she faced the skeleton, jaw even wider than before. "You said this was a small town… not a metropolis!"

He turned to face her. "THIS IS TINY COMPARED TO THE CAPITAL, HUMAN. ALMOST LIKE A SPECK OF DUST!" He turned back to the city, his hands not quite sure what to do. "OF COURSE I'D CALL THIS CITY A SMALL TOWN IN COMPARISON TO IT!

She sighed. "How were we supposed to-" She suddenly stopped herself before shaking her head. "Nevermind," she said as she took a few steps forward, glancing around.

I looked up at the skeleton as Frisk dragged me along with her. "So, where's this hotel at?"

His scarf flapped through the wind as he gained his heroic pose "I…" He slumped down. "DO NOT HAVE THE SLIGHTEST IDEA." A few moments passed before he jumped back up to a normal, non-heroic pose. "BUT, WITH BRIGHT SIGNS LIKE THIS-" He pointed at a medium-sized sign that had been next to us. It read "Welcome to Amsey!" in blue and green letters. "IT SHOULD NOT BE HARD TO FIND IT!"

Frisk nodded her head before walking over to a sidewalk, gesturing Papyrus to follow. "Well then, let's get looking." She waved yet another yawn away. "I really miss sleep right about now."

Monsters looked at us weirdly as we passed by, a far stranger expression on their face than the oblivious ones in Snowdin. It wasn't full-on panic, but was certainly something close. Most of them had casual clothing on, like the stuff you'd see on the surface. Shirts, jeans, sneakers, sometimes hats, all the normal stuff. It reassured me a little that I was in a somewhat safe place. We passed a few noticeable buildings along the way, each with its own sign. One simply read "Bar" with a little beer mug next to it, another read "Mall" with no illustration (it was a very big building), and the last said "Weapons" with a sword-like object in its window. My tired reflection stared me in the eyes as we walked by it; I couldn't express how happy I was that I would be sleeping very soon. Thankfully, Papyrus ended up being right. It was not difficult to find the hotel. The height of it alone caused it to stick out, nearly being as tall as some of the skyscrapers, or cavescrapers, I guess. The big "Rockyview Hotel" sign with a big arrow pointing right at the door was the real kicker though.

I walked up to it, put in awe by its height. "Finally," I let out with a gush of wind. I could practically hear myself snoring away under bedsheets already.

Because we were still holding hands, I had dragged Frisk along with me. "Huh. Guess we made it," she said as she looked up at it, bending her head all the way back. I jumped, not realizing she had come with me; really had to get used to the hand-holding thing if I wanted it to stay. When a few seconds passed and no one had fell, Frisk turned around to face Papyrus. "Well, thank you Papyrus!" She smiled. "I don't think we would've made it this far without you."

The skeleton somehow gained a flustered red color around his cheeks; I didn't bother to ask. "WHY, IT WAS MY PLEASURE HUMAN!"

I squinted at the front door as I thought over something. A question I had to ask. I turned around. "Where are you going to sleep, or, even go?" I would have been fine with Papyrus staying with us if he had nowhere else, but I wanted to avoid it at all costs. I would not be able to sleep with him around

He stayed silent for a moment. "MY BROTHER HAS A SENTRY STATION HERE AS WELL. IT HAS FOR MORE HOUSE-LIKE QUALITIES THAN THE OTHERS, SO I WILL STAY THERE UNTIL MORNING."

"Do you know where it is?" I had to make sure he wouldn't wander the streets, completely lost. He gave me a thumbs up in response. "Okay then." I nodded as I finished. "See you tomorrow, Papyrus," I said with a wave.

Frisk waved at him as well as he walked off, blending into the crowd not too long after. After waiting a minute to make sure he had truly left, I faced Frisk. "So, do you have any gold?" I brought out my bag of coins and dumped its contents in my hand. "Cause I only got four."

Frisk's eyes widened with a smile. "Only four? What the hell did you spend it on?"

"That nice cream from earlier. " I looked to the floor. "Probably should have only bought one."

Her smile wavered slightly, but it was barely noticeable. "I mean, I'm glad you did." She pat her belly. "And so is this guy."

A chuckle escaped me. "You thought I meant I'd buy one for myself?" I waved at the air in front of her almost like I was pushing the thought away. "No! I'd buy you one. You deserved it after trying as hard as you did."

Her eyebrows rose, head tilting slightly. It only lasted a few moments though before she quickly looked to the floor. "Oh." I would've thought though that made her sad, but the smile across her face told me otherwise. Her cheeks had also gained the slightest tint of red. Must've flustered her

We stayed silent for a moment, Frisk playing with her feet. Eventually, she shook her head. "Anyway, yeah, I have plenty." She pulled out her bag; it seemed to be almost overflowing. "I'm pretty confident it won't cost more than 500 gold."

"Should I even ask where you got that from?" She shook her head with a little smirk. "Well then-" I let go of her hand and gestured to the door, bowing in the process. "Lead the way, Miss Fancypants."

Her smirk grew to a smile as she gained a sassy pose, walking to the door and swaying her hips in a heavily exaggerated way. "With pleasure," she said in an equally sassy voice before disappearing inside the building. As I felt progressively more stares from the monsters walking by, I decided it was best to do the same.

Frisk must've been quick because she was already in front of the receptionist; they resembled a lizard, but were purple with long hair covering their eyes, and had a far more human face, only the tail signifying the reptile in them. They even lacked the majority of the scales. The room was huge, the ceiling being at least 14 ft. Fluorescent-like lights hung above, filling my surroundings with an unnaturally bright white and my ears with a constant, gentle hum. The walls were white, making them seem almost blinding in the light, and the floor was a greyish marble. Red couches sat on the left and right, almost in pristine condition. A red carpet of sorts led to two elevators on either side of the room, both in the same place. To top it all off, the receptionist sat behind a wooden counter with a marble top. A door was behind them, but that seemed to be it.

Far more exhausted than I thought possible, I went over and sunk into one of the couches. They were all empty, so that was a plus. I felt bad as I realized my dirty clothes would probably stain the couch, but it was already too late. Chara, who had mostly stayed behind me during the walk, suddenly appeared next to me on the couch when I blinked. I would've jumped but I was so close to passing out that I barely even noticed. She groaned as she stretched. "I'm finally about to get some real sleep." She rested on the arm of the couch as if it made a difference for her. "Took you two long enough to decide to rest."

My eyes were barely open. "I couldn't agree more." Too tired to think in my head, I simply whispered to her so that I wouldn't seem crazy.

Her eyes grew a little wide. "You really are beat, huh?" I couldn't do more than slightly nod my head. She chuckled. "Well, before you go to whatever sick dreams you have…" she turned to Frisk as she frowned a little. " You should probably tell her about me."

I threw my hand in her general direction. "If you want it to happen so badly, you do it."

She shook her head. "You're the only one that can see me, remember?"

I slowly turned to her, my face in a "You stupid?" type of expression. "Did you forget that you could come back to life with the snap of a finger?"

She squinted at me for a few seconds, then the realization washed over her. "Shit, you're right." Her eyes went down to the floor. "I did forget about that…" She stayed silent for a moment, scratching her chin as she did. "But… that wouldn't work."

My eyebrows went up a little. "Why not?"

She shook her head. "If I remember correctly, my body when I bring it back is incredibly unstable. It can only take a few scratches before it turns to dust." She squinted at the floor, rubbing her forehead. "I think at least? I might be remembering something else."

I looked to the side. "Okaaaay…" I waited for her to say more, but when she didn't I felt no choice but to speak up. "What does that have to do with you coming back and telling her you exist? You shouldn't be hurt from doing that, unless you stub your toe on a rock or something."

At this point, she was full-on crushing her head from how tight she was grabbing it. "I-I think I read somewhere that a… strong emotional state causes the same effect. It's so fuzzy that it's hard to tell."

I could feel the general feeling of panic come from her. I sighed as I sat up. "Okay Chara, what's going on?"

She continued to look at the floor, but I could feel her attention on me. "I c-can't remember anything! It all feels so fuzzy."

"What are you trying to remember?"

She finally looked up at me, staring at me for a good long while. Eventually, a sigh escaped her. "You'd have to know my past to understand it, and I don't really trust you enough to..." She trailed off, looking to the side. "That would just be stupid. I'm going to have to deal with you either way, so I'd just be delaying the inevitable."

I was entirely confused, but I didn't get long to process anything before she took a deep breath. "When I was a child, no older than six, I climbed the mountain we're under. Unlike you, it wasn't for a good reason. My family-" She stopped herself. "My biological-" Her hands went up as she made air quotes. "'parents,' were… abusive, to cut it short." She shook her head with a frown. "They had tortured me since I was a goddamn infant, the sick bastards," she mostly mumbled. Her arms rested over each other as she looked to the floor. "I hope they're burning in hell."

She didn't say anything after that for a while. It got to the point where I was about to comfort her before she started speaking. "That's not the important part though." I swear her eyes looked a little watery. "No point crying over spilled milk." She took a big sigh, then continued. "I'll be blunt with you, Jack. I jumped down the mountain hoping it would kill me. My parents had convinced me life wasn't worth living. Somehow though, I survived. After I cried for a little bit, this… little goat boy stumbled upon me. He seemed a little scared at first, but quickly came to me once he saw my tears. He introduced himself, saying his name was Asriel. I told him my name and he offered to bring me to his parents. Being scared and feeling helpless, I accepted, and that's when my new life began. The king and queen, Toriel and Asgore, adopted me into their family and treated me like I was their own child. They showered me with love I hadn't experienced before." She smiled. "I just wish it had lasted longer."

"It stayed like that for ten years before… well, you already know Toriel isn't with Asgore anymore and that I'm dead. I think you can put the pieces together." She faced me. "Somewhere along, I met the royal scientist at the time. Doctor W.D Gaster."

I was a little take aback. "Gaster was a scientist?" I honestly had no idea. The only real thing I knew about him was that he wanted me dead.

She nodded. "Yep. I'm one of the only ones that remember that. Anyway, Gaster had two children with him. I'd like to say it was Sans and Papyrus because not only did they look like them, but acted the same as well. Those two are only thirty at the most though, Papyrus probably being 20…" she gulped. "And this happened hundreds of years ago." She looked to the floor. "Monsters age differently than humans, I already knew this. Their aging slows down when trapped in areas without sunlight, returning to what humans consider normal when rexposed to it. But they can't live for hundreds of years at a time. Not normal ones, at least" She eventually shook her head. "Anyway, Gaster's experiments intrigued my young mind. So much so that I asked if he could train me on science. He laughed at first because I was no more than eight, but when he saw the determination on my face, he gave in. So, for the rest of my time alive, I studied how souls worked or what determination was capable of. I was actually able to create an artificial soul designed for monsters who had died. As long as you had their dust, they could be brought back." She looked to the side. "I was only ever able to create two though before I… well, I think you can guess."

Shock might have been the only word I could use to describe what I was feeling. "Wow…" My voice trailed off. "That explains a lot actually." I was always somewhat curious where she got all her info from, but now that she told me she was basically a scientist, it made a lot more things clear. I focused back on the conversation. "Well, thanks for telling me that and all, but what does that have to do with you not remembering anything?"

She sighed. "My studies with Gaster… it's almost like someone reached into my brain and yanked them out, and it's only happening now."

I was about to ask another question, but when I heard a disgruntled sigh from Frisk, I faced towards her. She still stood in front of the receptionist, arms crossed. "But we're only staying for a few hours at the most! Can't you cut down the price a little?"

The receptionist looked to the floor, slumping down with their hand on their face. "Look lady, I've told you ten times now that it's 700G for one night in the room you're requesting. That's not gonna change no matter how many times you say it's for a few hours." Listening to their voice told me it was a girl. Might have even been our age, or somewhere close to it. She rested her arms on the counter, leaning into it. "So either: you leave the hotel, or you request a different room. No ifs or buts."

I glanced over at Chara. "We'll talk later, I'm pretty sure she needs my help." She nodded before vanishing in the blink of an eye. With a small groan, I stood up and approached the two.

I could see the frustration on Frisk's face. "But we really need those two beds. Is there any other room that has that and is cheaper?"

The girl shook her head as I reached them. "What's going on?" I asked, the girl seeming surprised to see me. Her hair did block most of her vision though, so she probably didn't see me coming.

Frisk glanced over at me. "It costs more than 500," she said with furrowed eyebrows.

A sigh escaped me; why did everything have to be so damn complicated? "Okay." I faced the girl. "I heard you say that she was requesting an expensive room. So, if you have different rooms for different prices, what's the cheapest you got?"

She looked relieved. "Finally, something I can answer." She paused for a few seconds, rubbing her head. "Yes, we have different rooms. The cheapest is a one-bedroom suite, coming with a bathroom, living room, and kitchen."

"What's the price?"

She dug into her pocket and pulled out a sheet of paper. It was heavily wrinkled, but still readable. After squinting at it for a few moments, she looked back to me. "350G."

I was surprised Frisk hadn't just bought that. "Well then, we'll get-"

Halfway through my sentence, Frisk put her index finger in front of my mouth, forcing me to stop. My eyes looked to her; that frustration from before had transformed into anger. "How many beds does it have?" she asked while still staring at me.

"One queen-sized bed."

Frisk crossed her arms like it was some big revelation, waiting for me to do the same. The surprise on her face when she realized I was just confused... well, surprised me. "Okay? It comes with a living room, I'll just sleep on the couch."

Her eye's widened, the anger turning to defeat. Slowly, she looked to the floor. "But..." Her voice trailed off, never returning.

When some time had passed and her eyes still hadn't moved, I decided I'd just buy it. I, as gently as I could, took her gold out of her hand and plopped it on the counter. "We'll take it."

The girl picked up the bag and began stifling through the coins. Just under her breath I heard a little " _Thank god_ ," from her. They must have been negotiating the price the entire time I talked to Chara. Eventually, after a somewhat tense silence sat in the air for quite some time, she eventually dropped the coin bag back on the counter, almost entirely empty. She bent over and grabbed something on the counter before sliding it next to the coins; it was a keycard of sorts"Your room is 208."

I smiled at them in an attempt to show my gratification, taking the bag back as I did. "Thanks..." I squinted at their chest, trying to find a name tag. It didn't take long for me to find one, but the spelling somewhat confused me. "...Suzy?" Probably the weirdest way I've seen that name spelled. When a few moments passed and they hadn't corrected me, I took Frisk's hand, who was still looking to the floor, and dragged them to the elevator. It was already on the bottom floor, so there was no awkward period of waiting. We both stepped into it and, just before it would've shut, I stuck my head out slightly. "Have a good night!" And with that, we were on our way to the top.

* * *

**A/N**

**Hello! Welcome to the end of chapter 19! Man, chapter 19... I still remember struggling to write the first chapter, completely unsure of how this fic would turn out. Well, from where I'm standing, it looks pretty good. Anyway, I hope you like my little headcanon of Chara there. I honestly think it makes reasonable sense that she would've interacted with the good doctor during the time she was alive. That would explain why she can go from talking as formally as a world leader, to returning to what you'd expect a child to sound like. I don't see a lot of people have my take on things, so hopefully you at least find it interesting. Sorry for the late update; turns out making a game takes a lot of time. Next chapter will be about... well, I'm not sure yet. I have most of the story planned out, but I'm torn between two ideas for the next one. Well, either way, it'll probably come out on a Sunday two weeks from now, like normal. So, see you then!**


	20. Calm Before the Storm

The somewhat gentle hum of the elevator filled my ears as I turned to Frisk, a sigh escaping me. "What the hell was that about?"

She continued having a staring contest with the floor, playing with her fingers along the way. "I..." Her voice trailed off as she looked up, still not facing me. "You look so tired Jack, and I know you probably went through hell trying to find me. The way you've been treating me this entire time is just..." She smirked. "Too nice." Her feet began to move around. "You've bought me food, cheered me up when I'm at my lowest, been a shoulder to lean on while I cry. And, you've looked past all my flaws, continuing to give me second chances I don't deserve." She shook her head with a heavy frown. "While all I've done is make you worry about me, or make your life twenty times harder than it should be. I'm even the reason you fell into the abyss; I was too careless to block a few spears." It didn't take long for her eyes to be staring down at the floor once more, her eyes a bit more shiny this time. "I don't deserve you, or your kindness. And yet-" a chuckle escaped her. "You keep giving it to me." She finally met my gaze, one of her cheeks having a streak of water going down it. "So I thought... the least I could do was give you a goodnight's rest." She smiled as a tear escaped her other eye. "But I even failed at that."

"Frisk..." Two more tears splattered against the floor as I finished. I got a little closer to her; she clearly wasn't in a good place, beating herself up over something as small as a bed. "Frisk..." When she looked away from me, I decided that my actions would help her more than words. Without a second of hesitation, I wrapped my arms around her, resting my head on her shoulder. Thank god I did that because I was at a loss of what to say. Eventually, I did come up with something. "You're so dumb sometimes, you know that?" I attempted to add some much-needed comedy to the tension.

It took her a few moments, but when a small laugh came from her followed by her returning the hug, I knew I had succeeded. "Yeah." She was too short to reach my shoulder, so she just buried into it instead. "Y-yeah, I know." Then we sat there hugging, like we had done so many times in the past. If we ever made it to the surface, the first place I would bring her was a therapist. Even after the elevator had stopped, we held each other for a little longer. Her grip around me began to loosen. "Please Jack, just-" She fully let go of me and looked me in the eyes; she had been crying, but not full-on sobbing. "Just take the bed, okay?"

I squinted at her. "It's no big deal, Frisk. I've slept on far-"

My sentence was cut short as her face scrunched up. "Please." She looked to the floor. "It'll make me feel... a lot better."

She was so beaten, like I had just given her every insult I had. It would make her happy, but I just really didn't care; my bed at home was probably harder than a couch. Plus, she needed sleep too, that much was obvious. Sure, she didn't get stabbed through the heart like I did, but she was so emotionally exhausted. "How about-" I was hesitant to say it. "How about we just share the bed?"

I could see her eyes light up. She looked to me. "You really want to do that?"

"Yeah!" I smiled. "We did it once before. How much more awkward could it get than that?"

She giggled. "Yeah, I guess you're right." Maybe my eyes deceived me, but her cheeks looked redder.

"Then it's settled." I walked out of the elevator. The room was nothing more than a long hall stretching to either side of me, hundreds of doors with numbers next to them stared at us. I gestured Frisk to follow, who was seemingly cowering in the elevator. "Now come on, we got a room to find."

She quickly came out and we were off. As we walked, I got progressively more confused by the number system of the rooms. First of all, we were on the top floor even though our room was 208. Secondly, the numbers had seemingly no pattern. It jumped from 50 to 600 through the passing of a single room. Finding our's would be no easy task. Maybe there was a pattern, but my tired mind could barely process the color of the walls, let alone what four plus four was. Frisk was following along, far more quiet than normal. I mean, it was obvious why, but it still surprised me to hear barely a word from her. I hoped a goodnight's sleep would fix her up, but I wasn't sure; I'd have a hard time moving on if I thought Comet had died only to find out she was fine.

On the topic of Frisk, I wasn't sure how I felt about her. I knew she was my friend, but I'd be lying if I said I wasn't starting to see her as more. It's not like I was deeply in love with her or anything; just, a part of me seemed to really like every part about her. My eyes were finding it more and more difficult to not peak a glance at her. I struggled to keep my heart from fluttering when she spoke. My cheeks would become as bright as a lightbulb if she were to simply say "Nice jacket." And, as embarrassing as it was for me to admit it, I was looking forward to sharing a bed with her, waking up and seeing her body next to mine. It wasn't a sexual thing, either. I just… loved being around her, even at her worse. And I'd struggle to say that applied to many people. But, it didn't matter. I beat the thoughts away. _She probably doesn't feel the same_. I verbally sighed. _Shouldn't get my hopes up._

My thoughts were cut short as I felt something appear behind me. I must have been getting better at the whole soul thing because I didn't even need to turn around to know who had come out. It was all of them; Chara, Grace, and even William. Chara was the first to come to my side though. "Listen Jack," she said in a voice I couldn't quite pinpoint.

Feeling I already knew what she was going to say, I interrupted her. _She'll know about you when we get into the room_.

Her eyes widened. "Oh… Well, thanks I guess, but that's not what I was going to say." Now my eyes grew wide as I glanced at her. "You may not think so, but-" She sighed as she looked at Frisk. "She likes you. Probably more than you like her." I rolled my eyes, but she didn't stop. "I know her Jack. She has never treated someone like she treats you…" She crossed her arms. "Not even me."

Grace was the next to approach me. She had a wide grin, like normal. "Yeah! I knew it the moment she started hugging you!"

My gaze went to her as I squinted. _Then why not just tell me?_

She shrugged with a look to the ceiling. "I just thought you'd put the pieces together yourself." Her hand went up to her mouth as she giggled. "Then I remembered how dumb you are."

Finally, William joined Grace's side. "I mean, they are right Jack. I've barely been around, but just from the moment you guys reunited, I could already tell she cared a lot for you."

I shook my head, holding back a chuckled. _You guys are joking, right?_ I slightly faced Frisk and gestured at her. _Someone like her? Liking me?_ When all of them didn't say anything, I rubbed my face. _You can't be serious. She'd never like me_ … My voice trailed off as I thought of everything we had done. She couldn't like me; I was just some random dude, too awkward to even get a sentence out most of the time, while she had confidence I could only dream of. But then, I remembered the little moments. How bad she felt for acting mean, opening up to me more than anyone else had ever done, letting me sleep in the same bed as her, hugging me regularly, being traumatized from my fake death, holding my hand, and even feeling like a failure because I didn't get a proper bed. My hands slightly shook as I looked to the wall. _...Right?_

No one could answer me before Frisk's voice cut through my ears. "Umm, Jack?" she said from behind me. I spun around only to see her next to a door. She pointed at the number on the side. "Pretty sure this is the room." She was right; number 208. I was so focused on my thoughts that I hadn't even noticed.

"O-oh yeah." I coughed because of how gravely my voice sounded. I dug into my pockets before pulling out the keycard, walking next to her. "T-this is i-it." For some reason, I felt… nervous around her. The doorknob had a little keycard reader so I, as quickly as possible, swiped it across it as the door unlocked and went in.

The room looked like what you'd expect from a hotel. We were immediately greeted with the kitchen, a small, fluorescent light hung from the roof lighting up the entire room. A living room sat in front of it, as standard as you'd expect. Then there was just a door, which I assumed led to the bedroom. Frisk went over and leaned against the kitchen's bar, glancing around the room. "Pretty nice. A lot better than what was in Snowdin." She scratched her chin. "That was an Inn though, so I really shouldn't compare it.

"Y-yep." I still struggled to speak. I strolled into the living room and felt the couch; it was surprisingly soft. So soft in fact that I couldn't resist sitting in it. If we were in a different situation, it would've made a great bed. Chara, Grace, and Will stared from the corner, reminding me of what I said I'd do. I closed my eyes with a sigh. "Hey, Frisk?" My gaze turned to her as I gestured to the empty couch cushion "Could you come over here? I, uh, have something to say."

Her eyes widened slightly. "You do?" When I responded with a nod, she began walking towards me. "Alright then." She plopped down next to me. "What's up?"

I blushed slightly, only then realizing how strong a crush I had formed on her. Never in the history of my life had I gotten flustered after deliberately asking someone to sit next to me. "Umm…" I scratched my neck. "How do I put this into words?" My stupid feelings were making it hard to speak; I had to tell her, and soon at that, otherwise, it'd start eating me from the inside out.

Frisk looked confused. "Is it something important?"

"Yeah, actually. Really important." I sighed, barely having a sentence planned out. "You remember that ghost you traveled with way back in the past? Before I fell down here?"

She moved her head up and down. "Yeah…"

"Well, um-" I took a deep breath; there was no simple way to say it. A few moments of me holding said breath in later and I pointed at the locket around my neck, cringing slightly. "They're in this locket."

Frisk just raised an eyebrow at first. "What?"

I stared at her blankly; _thought I made the message pretty clear_. "Chara, the sassy ghost. She's in the locket I'm wearing."

Frisk proceeded to stay silent for quite some time, her eyes getting progressively wider. She eventually snapped out of her trance, almost jumping up. "Chara's with you?"

Speaking of the devil, she let out a sigh from the corner. "This is taking too long."

I shook my head. _Well, I'm trying my fucking hardest over here! Not exactly easy when you can barely speak._

"Fine then." She raised one of her hands. "I'll just do it myself." Her two fingers scraped together and a loud snap echoed through the room. Even Frisk seemed to hear it because she looked in its direction. I expected my soul to pop out like last time she had snapped, but instead, nothing… at first. Then, after I blinked, I was looking at the couch I once sat on, exactly where Chara stood. In front of me was… me, sitting on the couch next to Frisk. I had been removed from my body, almost like I had died and came back as a ghost. I, or my body, was in exactly the same position I once was, even my cheeks were still pink. My own eyes stared at me, a bright red piercing my soul instead of the usual blue. As I continued to stare, I noticed something; everything around my body had this blurry, almost distorted form, the entire area appearing far more grey than I remembered. It was slight, like looking out a poorly washed window, but still very noticeable. The only thing that lacked all of these characteristics was my body in front of me.

I looked around, William and Grace were next to me, lacking the distortion I just described and the transparency they once had. Hell, they even had some color, letting me see Grace's blonde hair and Will's purple-ish sweater. When I glanced down, I was shocked to see that I had an almost exact replica of my normal body, dirty clothes and everything. If my reflection wasn't staring me in the eyes, I'd have no idea something was amiss. I felt it all around, my senses seemingly unchanged. "What the fuck..." was all I could let out.

Will rubbed his chin as he stared at me. "Well, that was unexpected." He titled his head to the side, looking up slightly. "You're taller than I remember.

Instead of staying her distance, Grace went up and poked my shoulder. It made contact with it, causing a little jolt of surprise from me. "Hey! I can touch you without trying now!" She poked the same spot again. "Cool!"

Panic filled my head more and more as wildish thoughts popped up. _Am I stuck like this? Did I have a sudden heart attack or something? Where's Chara-_ My thoughts were thankfully stopped by a sigh from my real body. " **We just swapped places for a bit** ," Chara's voice boomed around me as if there were multiple speakers she was talking through. " **Nothing to freak out about**."

As I looked back up, I realized my now red eyes were staring right at me. It took me a second to put everything together, mainly because of shock, but I eventually did figure it out. I waved my fake arms around. "Since when could you do this?"

She… or is she a he now? Anyways, Chara shrugged. " **The entire time."** She shook her head. **"I just now remembered it**." She wasn't joking about her memory becoming jacked up.

Frisk rubbed her head, still staring at where the snap had come from, or me, I guess. I almost forgot she was there, but can you really blame me after the shock I just went through? "Wonder what that was." A few seconds of staring later and she quickly spun towards Chara. "So you said you have Chara-" She pointed at the locket around her neck; boy was it strange to refer basically my reflection as she. "-In that?"

Chara gained a cringe. "I'm actually right here," she said with a wave. She sounded just like me when she actually spoke, so it made me a bit disoriented.

Frisk's face scrunched up as she squirted at her. "Yeah, sure you are." When a few moments passed and Chara's expression hadn't changed, she raised both of her eyebrows. "Wait, you're not joking?" I mean, why would she think I'd make a joke like that?

She shook her head. "Unfortunately, no." Despite her previous reaction, Frisk still looked skeptical, and I wasn't the only one to notice. Chara rubbed her face. "Okay, look, if you want proof-" She glanced at me with a sigh before facing Frisk. "Flowey is actually Asriel." I had almost forgotten about Flowey because of how long it had been without an appearance from him. Honestly. I'm glad that was the case.

Frisk began to glance around as she nodded her head. "Yep, okay. You're not lying." She continued to do this before suddenly, and quickly, snapping to Chara. "Why the hell are you in that locket? You're meant to be buried under the flower bed!" Clearly, the shock just hit her.

Chara raised her hands like a gun was pointed at her. I don't blame her after seeing Frisk's glare. "Don't ask me. All I remember is being on the surface with you one moment, and then with a blink, seeing Jack in front of me with my locket on."

Frisk leaned back against the couch arm, crossing her arms. "Great! You know even less than me about what happened!" She turned to the floor. "We can talk about this later; I'm too tired right now."

She gained a disgusted face. "What? No we can't! This has never happened before!" Her hands went up and jingled the locket around. "Items being in different places, people doing things they had never done before. I mean, look around, Frisk." She gestured around the room. "None of this existed in all the other timelines. And we had done everything possible." She rubbed her body, or my body, I guess. "On top of all that, another human fell with you for crying out loud! Don't you see how big of a deal this is?" When she still didn't return her stare, she rubbed her eyes. "Could you just tell me anything you know about why it's like this? I need to know."

Frisk continued to stare at the floor, trying her hardest to keep a stern expression. It began to flicker though as a progressively more strong frown crept onto her face. She eventually let out a sigh after trying to keep it for a few more moments. "Alright, fine." Her eyes finally returned Chara's stare. "I don't know much more than you. The only thing I'm sure about, and it's more a theory than fact, is that Gaster caused the reset." She shook her head. "When we were leaving the Ruins, Gaster brought us to the void. He was… different. Less sophisticated and more glitched. He chose to speak in his language at first, and he very rarely does that. It just… wasn't him." Her eyes returned to the floor; she liked the color, I guess. "Jack has told me little about the Gaster he saw, but it sounds a lot more like him to me. Calling him a glitch and knowing how he shouldn't exist. But, the thing we saw in front of the Ruins… an imitation at best."

Chara looked to me like I had all the answers. I shrugged in response. "I mean, she's right. Gaster acted very differently the two times I've seen him." I crossed my arms and leaned against the walls. "Just thought he was bipolar."

She returned to staring at Frisk. "So, what do you think then? Did he cause it or not?"

She looked away from her. "Look, Chara, I don't have a clue. Maybe if I was less tired I could actually tell you something useful, but I'm not." She stood up, stretching as she did. "Could you bring Jack back? We need to go to bed."

Chara shook her head for a few moments, looking like she was going to say more. Her mind quickly changed. "Fine, but-" She pointed directly at her face, stern eyes staring her down. "We got to find out why this happened, Frisk. It can't just be ignored."

She seemed completely unphased. "I know. I want to know what happened just as much as you." She yawned, continuing nonetheless. "I'd prefer to be in a somewhat awake state when we do though."

Chara raised her hand into the air. "Okay. Just..." Her voice trailed off, clearly hesitant don't forget, alright?" When Frisk nodded, she scraped her fingers together like before. Just like last time, nothing happened for a little bit. Then, when I blinked, I had indeed moved. The problem was… I wasn't in the same room.


End file.
